RICHARDSON, Texas — State Representative Ana-Maria Ramos, D-Richardson, said she’s confident vouchers will not pass the Texas House, even though the Senate’s version of the bill quickly sailed through the upper chamber.
Rep. Ramos’ optimism is buoyed by the incoming freshman class.
“During this past election, we had a lot of new, incoming educators in this freshman class,” the Democrat told us on Inside Texas Politics. “And so I’m hoping that the people in their community are going to continue to put pressure on them, their school districts are going to continue to put pressure on these individuals.”
Under Senate Bill 2, families would receive $10,000 a year per student to fund a child’s education at an accredited private school. Students with disabilities would receive $11,500. Even home-schooling students would receive up to $2,000 if they participated in the program. Those families would receive the money through education savings accounts (ESA).
Republicans are confident they now have the numbers to pass the measure in the House, where in years past, Democrats have teamed up with rural Republicans to block the legislation. In many of those rural districts, the local school district is the largest employer and there are few, if any, private school options.
Rep. Ramos said she thinks the measure will at least get a floor vote this session because the reality is different today thanks to one major change on the national level: President Donald Trump returning to office.
“That is scaring a lot of people I think. And it leaves a lot of unpredictability. Every day we’re hearing something different, right,” said Ramos. “And the difference today is that at the federal level, vouchers, the billionaires are running this country. The billionaires, the oligarchy are running this country, and they stand a lot to gain through vouchers.”
For her part, Rep. Ramos has already filed legislation to increase public school funding by raising the basis allotment by nearly $3,000 to nearly $9,000 per student, which is also the national average.
The basic allotment is the amount the state funds each district per student and is currently at $6,160, where it’s been for years.
“Where are we getting a billion dollars to start this new program and privatize portions of our public education when we haven’t even closed the gaping holes of where we’ve been behind in our public school education,” Ramos openly wondered.