Live updates: Education savings accounts on the Texas House floor

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Wednesday, the Texas House is expected to take up a years-long anticipated vote on Senate Bill 2 — which would establish education savings accounts (ESAs) — and House Bill 2 — the public school finance bill.

An ESA program would allow families to use tax dollars to help pay for private education, while the public school finance bill would increase current funding to Texas's public schools by $7.7 billion.

Before the meeting, some lawmakers started calling to turn SB 2 into a referendum — allowing Texas voters to have the final say on their ballots in November.

“The Governor keeps saying this is what Texans want,” Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, posted on X. “But that’s not what we’re hearing. We should be putting this to a vote of all Texans.”

Gov. Greg Abbott, who declared ESA legislation an emergency item for two consecutive sessions, said the voters already decided.

“This is just another desperate distraction from out-of-touch Texas Democrats,” Abbott’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. “School choice was on the ballot last November, and Texans elected a school choice majority in the Texas Legislature. When it comes to education, parents matter, and families deserve the ability to choose the best education opportunities for their children.”

As the day develops, we'll keep you updated right here on the latest from the Texas House floor.

Public school finance bill passes - 3:22 p.m. Wednesday

With a final vote of 144-4, the Texas House votes to pass HB 2 and increase public school funding by $7.7 billion. The bill now heads to the Texas Senate.

Fully funded pre-K added to HB 2 - 1 p.m. Wednesday

After the House laid out HB 2 (highlights below), a pair of amendments were laid out.

Public Education Vice Chairman Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, laid out an amendment to take money from the compensatory education allotment and the early education allotment to fully fund full-day, pre-Kindergarten services.

State Rep. Alan Schoolcraft countered by offering an amendment completely taking out the compensatory education allotment and adding $1,104 extra dollars to the basic allotment per student.

Schoolcraft argued the compensatory allotment is unfair and confusing, while the basic allotment is distributed evenly and straightforward. His proposal drew heavy criticism, including from fellow Republican State Rep. James Frank, Wichita Falls, for being added without a chance to examine what the amendment would mean for each district's funding numbers.

"You don't completely rewrite, reimagine and change school finance now," Bernal said about Schoolcraft's amendment. "It would result in a massive cut to about two-thirds of the districts in this state."

"It's a good amendment but a bad idea," Harold Dutton, D-Houston, said. He said he shares Schoolcraft's concerns over the compensatory education allotment system and said he and Education Committee Chairman Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, will work to fix those issues in the future.

Schoolcraft's amendment failed 25-121. Immediately afterwards, Bernal's pre-K amendment passed 128-18.

Dueling Speeches - Noon Wednesday

Before the pivotal vote, over a hundred advocates against SB 2 gathered in the Capitol rotunda, wearing red to support public education.

"First, they're going to have to come through us," State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, told the crowd. "We've got teachers and parents. We've got Republicans and Democrats. We've got rural Texans, urban Texans, suburban Texans, all here standing for our neighborhood public schools, and that is making some folks pretty nervous here in the Capitol."

At one point the rally got so loud, House security held up a noise reader and said the protesters would have to disperse if they got louder than 85 decibels.

The break in the noise allowed speakers, like House Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, a chance to be heard by more people.

"People know what this means. People know that this means we're going to defund our schools. People know that this means our local schools are going to close. People know that if our education system shuts down, that is the end of the middle class. That is the end of America," Wu said.

At the same time upstairs in the House Press Conference room, Speaker Dustin Burrows and members touted HB 2.

“Texas students deserve our best, and this bill delivers. Today's vote marks an important step for the future of Texas,” said Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, the bill’s author and Public Education Committee Chairman. He spoke along with Public Education Vice Chairman Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio and Burrows.

The key elements of HB 2 include:

• Providing nearly $8 billion in new funding to Texas Public Schools.
• Increasing the basic allotment, including an automatic increase annually based on statewide property values.
• Raising teacher pay and differentiating increases based on experience.
• Increasing funding for the Teacher Incentive Allotment that aims to put more Texas teachers on a pathway to earning six figures.
• Funding for bilingual programs, Pre-K students, and special needs students.
• Funding for the Grow Your Own Program to recruit and develop teachers to assist within their own communities.

As they announced the move to bring the school finance to the floor before bringing ESA legislation, Burrows emphasized public education remains a priority.

“School finance deserves its own moment. It is so important, no matter what happens on SB 2,” said Speaker Burrows. “The vast, vast majority of our children will be in public education, and we've got to talk about it and not be distracted. There'll be plenty of time for us to talk about SB 2.”