AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz stopped by the Texas Capitol in Austin on Thursday to express support for proposed legislation that would give taxpayer money to some Texas families for private schooling.
Cruz, who has long supported the policy that Republicans refer to as “school choice,” which would allow parents to use state funds to help send their children to private schools, said he wanted to come to the Capitol to cheer state lawmakers on.
Cruz’s visit coincided with the launch of a new effort by the U.S. senator to support lawmakers who support school choice in Texas. He is rolling out a six-figure ad buy, in which he praises state lawmakers who support school choice. The ads will appear on digital platforms online.
“School choice, I believe, is the civil rights issue of the 21st century,” Cruz said.
Cruz is offering his support to Republican lawmakers as the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives move forward with two different proposed school choice bills.
Cruz said the $600,000 worth of ads will support freshman House members, who Cruz said are “taking a bold and courageous stand supporting school choice,” calling it a battle that matters.
“I believe every single child in Texas deserves a right to an excellent education, regardless of their race, of their ethnicity, regardless of their wealth or their zip code,” Cruz said. “Wherever that little boy or girl lives, he or she deserves a chance at an excellent education and in the future.”
School choice is a top priority for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. During last year’s primary elections, Abbott campaigned against Republicans who voted against school choice in previous legislative sessions, ultimately ousting 15 of them.
In 2023, state lawmakers held four special sessions on ESAs. Each proposal faced opposition from Democrats and some rural Republican lawmakers, who said a school voucher program would drain more resources from Texas’s already struggling public education system.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) honored Cruz on Thursday morning for his support of school choice efforts on the House floor.
On the federal level, Cruz has spearheaded legislation to expand college savings plans to include public, private, religious and home school education expenses, which is very similar to the proposed Education Savings Accounts in the Texas House and Senate school choice bills.
“Hope. That’s what this is all about. Giving a child hope, giving them an opportunity, Cruz said. “It doesn’t guarantee them success in life, but it gives them a chance, then it gives them a chance to get an education, which is the key to success.”
The Senate has passed its ESA Bill, Senate Bill 2. It is sitting in the House Public Education Committee, waiting for a hearing.
The House Public Education Committee held a nearly 24-hour-long public hearing on their ESA bill, House Bill 3, last week. The Committee hasn’t voted on whether to advance it to the house floor for consideration.
“When you implement choice, the students that choose to go to another school, their reading scores go up, their math scores go up, their high school graduation rate goes up, their percentage of going to college goes up,” Cruz said. “It’s not just the kids that utilize choice to pick a different educational option. That competition consistently improves the outcomes in the public schools for the kids that some kids, tragically, right now, are trapped in failing schools. What we’ve seen is that when the kids have a choice, that competition improves those schools.”
Under House Bill 3, students in the program would receive funding for private school tuition equal to 85% of the average state and local funding public schools receive per student. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) estimated that number to be about $12,800 in fiscal year 2023. Based on that, students in the ESA program would be eligible for a little under $10,900, with the number possibly fluctuating as the average state and local funding per child changes.
Up to $30,000 would be awarded to students in special education, and HB 3 would provide up to $2,000 for homeschooling. The amount of money the state spends on special education can fluctuate depending on the classroom.
If the state gets more ESA applications than what it has money for, students living below the poverty line and children with disabilities would be prioritized. The House plan has a stricter tier system to determine eligibility:
- Students with disabilities from families with an annual income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level, which for a four-person household would mean earning less than $156,000.
- Families at or below 200% of the poverty level, which for a four-person household would mean earning less than $62,400.
- Families between 200% and 500% of the poverty level.
- Families at or above 500% of the poverty level.
The bill’s total cost is $1 billion, the same as the Senate’s ESA bill. However, the amount a student would get differs from the Senate’s plan.
The Senate’s ESA bill would allow families in the program to use at least $10,000 per child per year to pay for tuition at an accredited private school. That amount would jump to $11,500 for families of children with disabilities.
Of the total funding, $200 million would fund Universal ESAs, meaning any student could apply for that money. The other $800 million would be set aside for students with special needs or who are low-income. Senate Bill 2 defines low income as at or below 500% of the federal poverty line.
Critics say school choice would harm already underfunded public schools in Texas. School leaders said ESAs would significantly hurt rural public schools because a drop in funding would cause them to strip their budgets to just the necessities, with no funding for things like sports teams or bands.
Abbott and Republican leaders believe they have the votes to pass ESAs this session.