Gov. Greg Abbott threatens to call special session over school voucher vote – By Kennedy Sessions (Chron) / May 15, 2023
In a statement Sunday night, Abbott said he would call a special session and veto the bill if lawmakers don’t widen the scope for more people to apply to the voucher program.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned lawmakers he would call a special session or veto House Representatives’ latest version of the state’s school voucher bill seeking to give families $8,000 in taxpayer money to pay for their children to go to private schools.
The House’s newest version of Senate Bill 8, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would open eligibility to the program for students with disabilities and students in F-rated school districts—a total of around 800,000 students, or far fewer than the five million the governor sought to subsidize with his preferred legislation.
“The latest version does little to provide meaningful school choice, and legislators deserve to know that it would be vetoed if it reached my desk,” Abbott said in a statement Sunday night. “Parents and their children deserve the time and effort this will take. My staff and I will continue to work around the clock with the legislature to reach that goal. However, failure to expand the scope of school choice to something close to the Senate version or the original House version of the Senate will necessitate special sessions.”
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