Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has once again reaffirmed his commitment to school choice and said the Texas Senate will pass a bill providing $1 billion in taxpayer funds to the cause.
Patrick spoke with CBS News Texas and said lawmakers are “going to pass it out before next Wednesday” and will “send it over there [to the Texas House] like a rocket ship next week” to ensure a quick process.
These comments are in reference to Senate Bill 2, authored by Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), which would allocate at least $10,000 for every child attending accredited private schools.
Patrick continued to say that the proposed legislation would not hurt public schools and that “There’s no way we’re undermining public education” by passing this bill.
“We didn’t take this money out of the education fund. It’s a new fund we created, so it didn’t come away from public education. We’re fully funding public education,” he added, per CBS News.
These comments are similar to those made by Bettencourt, who said in a press release that the legislature passing the bill would mean it is “fostering a competitive environment that can lead to improvements across the entire education system.”
“Senate Bill 2 aligns with a growing national movement toward educational choice, that I’ve seen in 32 other states that have successfully implemented similar programs,” added the senator.
It remains to be seen whether the 89th legislature will be able to agree on a school choice bill, a top priority that failed to pass during the previous legislative session.