AUSTIN, TEXAS — Governor Greg Abbott wasted no time signing his $10 billion private school voucher scam with all the fanfare of a billionaire’s birthday party, but seems to have lost his pen when it came time to fund actual public schools. House Bill 2 (the bill to fund the schools that 95% of Texas children attend) has been languishing in Senate committee purgatory for 20 days with no sign of resurrection, while Senate Bill 2 (the handout to ultra-wealthy private school attendees) was fast-tracked faster than Abbott can say “campaign donation.”
Even arch-conservative outlet Current Revolt called out the shell game Republicans are playing, saying *“the school choice situation currently sits as a ‘bait and switch.’ Two bills were introduced as if they went together—it even had a fancy name, the Texas Two-Step—one for school choice vouchers, and one as a money bomb to dramatically increase public school funding … but lo and behold, the school choice scam has been signed into law, and the money bomb is curiously AWOL.” *
Last legislative session, schools were denied nearly $8 billion that Abbott held hostage when vouchers failed. The lack of funding has forced districts to cut deeper than ever before, closing campuses, cutting programs, and cramming ever-more students into classrooms. Now, Abbott and Patrick’s inaction further threatens Texans’ neighborhood schools, which House Democratic Chair Rep. Gene Wu warned last Saturday are already planning more closures.
“Greg Abbott promised Texans a ‘Texas Two-Step,’ but they’re delivering our schools a Two-Timing instead,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu. “Abbott has held school funding hostage for five years to pass his voucher scam, promising relief once it passed. Now the voucher bill is signed, but the bill to fund our schools remains stalled in the Senate. With less than 30 days left in the legislative session, there is still time for our governor to prove he didn’t plan to leave 5.5 million Texas students out in the cold once his voucher scam passed.”
House Democrats call on Lt. Governor Patrick and the Texas Senate to pass HB 2 as written, and for Governor Abbott to prove he actually cares about all Texas students, not just the select few who can cash out from his voucher scam.