“Several key proposals didn’t pass last session, and I am already working on new legislation for the 2025 session,” Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in an Aug. 5 email. Creighton is chair of the Senate Committee on Education. He said in 2025 he would again advance his Texas Parental Bill of Rights and Texas Teacher Bill of Rights, which include provisions for education savings accounts for parents as well as raises and bonuses for teachers.
Previous proposals for the education savings accounts from the Texas House and Senate in 2023 outlined several approaches for legislation to allow Texas families—up to 60,000 students in one version of the bill—to receive funding for tuition or other education-related expenses at accredited private schools.
Public school officials in districts such as Conroe ISD were critical of the proposals in 2023, with CISD Superintendent Curtis Null pointing out that a proposal to provide $8,000 per student to enroll in private school was more than the $6,160 allotment per student afforded to the district through state aid.
The context
Julie Ambler, who is head of school at The Woodlands Christian Academy as well as treasurer for the Texas Private School Association, said she sees support for the proposals within the private school community.
“As private schools we very much believe that parents are the primary educators of their children, and they should have a choice of where they send them,” Ambler said. “For the vast majority of kids that’s the local public schools because they have the most programs and amenities, but not for every child and not for every family.”
Some of the options offered in private schools, aside from religious affiliation, are services for children with special needs such as dyslexia, smaller classes and other options. However, private schools can be prohibitive for many families with these needs because of their cost, she said.
“For economically disadvantaged [families] this is kind of exciting,” Ambler said regarding a possible voucher program.
What’s next
A pair of bills Creighton filed in 2023, Senate Bills 1 and 2, had dual aims—to provide $500 million for private school vouchers, and to provide $5.2 billion for school funding and teacher raises.
House Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, echoed Creighton's statement that the subjects will be revisited in 2025.
"I think the governor is absolutely going to introduce school choice," Toth said in a phone interview.
Creighton said school choice would align Texas with 32 other states offering similar options to students.
However, CISD officials said at a July 16 budget meeting legislative action is also needed to provide funding for public schools above the current allotment based on average daily attendance. CISD did not budget for teacher raises in fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26.
At the Aug. 20 CISD board meeting, trustee Stacey Chase suggested including opposition to school vouchers among her potential legislative priorities for the board to consider for 2025, but the board did not vote on a final list at the meeting.
