Vouchers Bills To Be Voted On In Senate Education Committee Tuesday, April 7

 Write Your Senator or Call Your Senator

and Oppose Senate Bills 4, 276 and 642

BACKGROUND: Voucher bills have been debated in Texas since the mid ’90s. Texas PTA supports educational choices within public schools, while opposing voucher systems, tuition credits, and taxpayer savings grants for nonpublic school tuition and other education-related expenses.

Voucher programs use public money to fund private schools that are not accountable to taxpayers, nor are they required to teach the state’s curriculum or participate in the state’s assessment program.

School choice already exists in Texas, with transfers from one public school to another, magnet schools, and charter schools. Texas PTA supports expansion of public school choice.

SB 4 by Sen. Larry Taylor – would create Education Tuition Grants administered by TEA Commissioner. Grants are awarded to be used to pay the costs of attending private school. Grants will pay tuition costs at private school in an amount that is the lesser of tuition paid or 75% of state ADA per student. A participating private school could not be required to comply with any state law or rule regarding the school’s educational program. A taxable entity could apply for a franchise tax credit for money contributed.

SB 276 by Campbell – creates a “taxpayer savings grant program” that would reimburse a parent or legal guardian for all or part of the cost of private school tuition for their student. 60% of state ADA per student is granted. Businesses contributing to the program receive a tax credit.

SB 642 by Bettencourt – would allow a business to receive a tax credit for contributions to that would be used to partially fund the cost of private school tuition for eligible students. The bill would establish a maximum scholarship amount an organization could award a student using money contributed by an entity that receives a tax credit in return.

We urge you to write your senator or call you senator to oppose these bills that would take needed taxpayer dollars away from public schools and send them to private schools that are unaccountable to the state.

Alert: Call Your Senator and Urge Him or Her to Support SB 149!

SB 149 by Sen. Kel Seliger is a critical bill that was the sole focus of the Senate Education Committee hearing on Thursday, February 19.

It is urgent that this bill pass as soon as possible in order to benefit the students in the class of 2015 who have passed all of their courses but failed one or more EOC exams. SB 149 would allow school districts and charter schools to create individual graduation committees for students to determine whether a student qualifies to graduate despite failing to pass one or more EOCs.

SB 149 would allow school districts and charter schools to create individual graduation committees for students to determine whether a student qualifies to graduate despite failing to pass one or more EOCs. The committee is modeled after Grade Placement Committees in grades 5 and 8.

For this Action Alert – call your State Senator!