TX House Spurns Abbott, Votes Down School Vouchers

The Texas Tribune reports:

The Texas House on Friday voted to strip school vouchers from the chamber’s massive education funding bill, effectively gutting Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority from the legislation.

The House voted 84-63 in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. John Raney of College Station, which removed the provision of the bill allowing some parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private and religious schools. Twenty-one Republicans, most of whom represent rural districts, joined all Democrats in support.

The outcome was an embarrassment to Abbott, who spent seven months lobbying two dozen Republicans who signaled opposition to vouchers in a test vote during the regular legislative session in April. The governor has threatened to continue calling lawmakers back to Austin until they pass a bill.

Read the full article.

Breaking: ​The Texas House on Friday voted to strip school vouchers from the chamber’s massive education funding bill, effectively gutting Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority from the legislation. https://t.co/9nENBYuksC

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) November 17, 2023