The Senate Education Committee voted on party lines Tuesday to advance a bill that would create a voucher program open to virtually all applicants.

Senate Bill (SB) 1 by Chairman Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) would divert public tax dollars to provide $8,000 per year to students currently in private schools or who leave a public school district to attend a private school.

The bill contains no requirement that a family demonstrate financial need and would require participating students with disabilities to explicitly waive their rights to federal protections guaranteed to public school students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

ATPE Senior Lobbyist Mark Wiggins testified in opposition to the bill, stating ATPE’s long-held opposition to vouchers and reminding the committee that ATPE opposes any deal or compromise that includes a voucher. Wiggins emphasized that educators prioritize the long-term needs of all 5.4 million public school students over any short-term gain.

Dozens of witnesses testified over the course of several hours, with those registering opposition to vouchers outnumbering those in support by more than two-to-one. Public education advocates from every walk of life expressed dismay at the decision to draw funding away from public schools at a time when teachers are leaving the profession over a lack of pay and districts are running deficit budgets.

Sens. Creighton, Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels), Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), Brian Birdwell (R–Granbury), Pete Flores (R–Pleasanton), Phil King (R–Weatherford), Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), Tan Parker (R–Flower Mound), Angela Paxton (R–McKinney), and Drew Springer (R–Muenster) voted in support of the voucher.

Sens. Morgan LaMantia (D–South Padre Island), Jose Menendez (D–San Antonio), and Royce West (D–Dallas) voted against the bill.

The full Senate is expected to take up SB 1 on Thursday and pass the bill over to the Texas House, where Speaker Dade Phelan (R–Beaumont) has signaled he is willing to surrender decades of House independence and bipartisan opposition to vouchers in order to satisfy Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) demand that the Legislature pass an unlimited voucher during the special session.