The Senate Committee on Education met to take up  SB 3 (Taylor) school voucher legislation. The committee substitute was laid and left pending after just over 9 hours of testimony and discussion.
 
Senator Larry Taylor laid out his legislation

  • ESA allows for personalization of education
  • Will be administered by Comptroller with many safeguards
  • Eligible expenses include tuition and fees at private school, private tutoring, therapies, etc
    • 200% of more of free and reduced = 60% of avg. M&O
    • At or below of free and reduced lunch = 70% of avg. M&O
    • Disability = 90% of avg. M&O
  • District where child would have resided they will get half of funding
  • Comptroller will certify an educational organization
  • Committee substitute laid out
    • Clarifying and technical
    • adds clarifying language in regards to eligible tutors
    • protections against fraud – change language to allow for purchase of computer equipment for medical purpose and eliminate debit ability
    • Students receive ESA will be counted in districts to help address recapture issue
    • Make age and attendance eligibility same as ESA
  • Taylor asked for members to hold questions, opening remarks – called up first panel
  • Taylor moves testimony limited to 2 minutes

 
Highlight on the first part of the morning’s testimony (Approx 125 Witnesses signed up to testify)
 
Adam Peshek, Educator Choice for the Foundation in Excellence in Education

  • Implementation of program – believes it would like Florida or Nevada and reviews that structure
  • Effect on public schools – not a binary choice, can support both and have seen both private and public schools benefit (ex Florida)

 
Scott Jensen, American Federation for Children

  • More than half of the country benefits from choice programs
  • No state legislature has ever repealed private choice legislation
  • Embraced by leaders in both parties
  • Every Republican Governor in country supports school choice and now many Democrat leaders support
  • Taylor asked about the Milwaukee program
    • 28k attending private through voucher, robust options for parents
    • Public schools have upped their game in response to competition
    • However, some schools just chose to put politics in it and work on protectionism
  • Lucio – appreciates the sentiment of taking the politics out of it 

 
Lindsey Burke, Heritage Foundation

  • Choice provides a superior form of accountability
  • Parents in Arizona independently started and ESA message board
  • Parents have more useful information in choice environment, parent driven accountability has been demonstrated to improve outcomes

 
Matthew Ladner, Charles Koch Institute

  • Texas educates more than the 20 smallest states combined
  • Cannot keep adding these students and not create significant financial constraints  

 
Donna Corbin, Texas Classroom Teachers Association

  • Opposed to tax vouchers, ESA’s and the like
  • Prefer to offer choice in currently available public education opportunities
  • Could cause financial drain, lack of accountability, etc
  • Potential for misuse of funds
  • Bill may bring constitutional legal challenge
  • Indiana Program should significant loss in some subjects, provides other examples

 
Corey D’Angelo, Doctoral Student at University of Arkansas studying school choice

  • Research showing higher achievement, less crime, benefits to these programs including less cost to taxpayer
  • Provided details on benefits they would see in Texas based on their model with this program
  • Taylor – what are highly regulated regulations?
    • Louisiana– prohibition of parental co-payments, by trying to control quality through regulation the program decreased the amount of options available to parents & state takes control of admission requirements
  • West – comparative analysis on accountability between private or public, accountability from state? Is there parity in accountability?
    • Have not done such an analysis – two types of accountability one from state and one from parents
    • Gave example of test scores accountability has uncertainty, but when open it up to parents you get a standard for each student
  • West – asked about Louisiana accountability regulatory provision vs what is being proposed in this bill
    • Parent co-payment allowed, open admission standards
  • West – have you looked at avg. cost of private education in test, have you looked at Fiscal Note on the bill?
    • No
    • West – FN for 2018 is $5m in GR and $12 in FSP, isn’t that significant
    • Does it consider savings of students being taught that are not being taught into public schools?
  • West – pointed out the FN and asked him to review, do you know what the Foundation School Program?
    • Can you explain it?
    • Have not read up on it yet

 
Jonathan Butcher, Goldwater Research Institute

  • Parents are empowered with ESAs and courts have opined on these programs
  • Arizona auditor said less than 1% of accounts were misused due to fraud

 
Jorge Lima, LIBRE Initiative and part of Americans For Prosperity

  • Allow parents to be in driver seat of customization of education
  • Latino community can benefit strongly and no wonder they support
  • 70% Latinos support voucher and many support ESA’s
  • Lucio – appreciates their mission, what are you doing to make sure more parents are showing up, key is for parents to be engaged
    • We make sure meeting parents where they are at, work on educating parents on how their involvement impacts – host events on current options in district and introducing them to processes in school districts

 
Inez Feltcher, American Legislative Exchange Counsel

  • Texas last state in south to offer school choice
  • 5 other states are looking at starting/expanding ESA program

 
Janna Lilly, TCASE

  • Oppose SB 3 reading testimony from mother who could not be there
  • Does not believe the bill is good for kids with disabilities
  • Lucio – accountability measures in public schools not required in private schools
    • Due process for parents (IEP)
  • Taylor – do you not want kids in urban areas to have opportunities, this gives bottom up accountability
    • We don’t want parents to leave when not happy, want them to work through it
    • Taylor – maybe competition would help, when they leave could find out why
  • So much effort dedicated toward telling public schools and asking for accountability
    • Taylor- trying to free up and offer flexibilities to schools
  • VanTaylor – asked for more details on vouchers, why do use the word voucher
    • Voucher is broad word for public funds going to private organizations
  • VanTaylor – would say there is something immoral about ESA/voucher
    • State is charged with general diffusion of knowledge
  • VanTaylor – do you want more funding in state per child
    • Absolutely
    • But the money issue is not the overwhelming issue – in good consciousness cannot support students with needs going to school that are not equipped to handle

Testimony continued with approximately 125 witnesses signed up to testify.