Austin – House Bill 3, a controversial state bill which would allow families to use taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition, took center stage during a House Committee public hearing Tuesday.
Lawmakers who both support and oppose the bill discussed how the bill would work if passed, and the potential impacts to Texas families.
Gov. Greg Abbott has been a strong supporter of HB3 and Senate Bill 2, which he said would give parents the opportunity to choose the best education for their kids.
The bill would prioritize low income and special needs students. But critics believe the bill would end up helping families who are already sending their kids to private schools.
“House Bill 3 creates an education savings account program to be administered and regulated by the Texas comptroller’s office,” said Rep. Brad Buckley. “Utilizing state funds, ESAs will allow participating families to pay for a range of educational expenses outside the traditional public school system, empowering parents to choose the education path that best fits their child’s needs.”
Currently, the bill states it would prioritize families in the following order:
- Students with disabilities from families with a yearly income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level, which includes any four-person household earning less than roughly $156,000, according to 2024 statistics
- Families at or below 200% of the poverty level, which includes any four-person household earning less than roughly $62,400
- Families between 200% and 500% of the poverty level
- Families at or above 500% of the poverty level
However, the bill allows virtually any Texas family to participate and there are no income caps on who can apply, sparking concern from other lawmakers.
“What I’m worried about is that the money is going to cascade to the top,” said Representative James Talarico. “This bill could require that the private school accept students who get an ESA, get a voucher under this program. We could do that, but we’re not doing that. We are allowing the private school to have the ultimate power.”
But Rep. Buckley underscored how the bill would give parents the power to decide students' futures.
Some other critical lawmakers also brought up concerns about how this bill could impact public school enrollment and funding.
“One of the challenges I have with this bill is that it takes a billion dollars that we could be spending on public schools,” said Representative Gina Hinojosa.
Representative Harold Dutton, who represents Houston’s Fifth Ward, also brought up similar concerns stating public schools need more attention.
“Most kids in Texas are still going to be in public schools,” said Rep. Dutton. “That to me says our most urgent response ought to be to fix public schools.”
HB 3 has yet to be voted on.