After seeing numerous attempts die at the hands of the Straus/Bonnin/Phelan/Burrows cabal over the years, the Texas House has finally passed school choice.
In a historic move, the Texas House gave initial approval today to Senate Bill 2, a school choice proposal backed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The vote marks the first time a school choice bill has cleared the Texas House—a major shift from just last session when a similar proposal was voted down. The change comes after Abbott made the issue a defining battle in last year’s Republican primaries, endorsing challengers against GOP incumbents who had opposed school choice. Many of those incumbents were ousted, clearing the way for today’s vote.
Ahead of the floor debate, House Republicans met privately and heard from both Gov. Abbott and President Donald Trump, who called into the meeting and urged them to stay united.
“I just think it’s a really forward-thinking vote,” said Trump on the call. “There’s nothing complex about it. You’re not going to get hurt by it. It’s actually almost the opposite. People really want it.”
Snip.
The bill ultimately passed 86-63, with Phelan and State Rep. Gary Vandeaver (New Boston) being the only GOP members to vote against the measure.
Phelan still insists on being the turd in the punch bowl.
The bill now returns to the Senate, which can either concur with the House’s amendments or send the legislation to a conference committee.
Finally getting school choice passed is a direct result of slaughtering so many Dade Phelan cronies in the 2024 Republican primary (and runoff), the success of such efforts greatly aided by Abbott, Ted Cruz and Ken Paxton all campaiging to defeat anti-school choice (and pro-Paxton impeachment) reps.
It was a long time coming, but Texas voters finally got Republican representatives to vote like Republicans.
Tags: 89th Texas Legislature, Brandon Waltens, Dade Phelan, Donald Trump, Gary VanDeaver, Greg Abbott, Republicans, school choice, Texas, Texas Scorecard
Now get rid of the wind farms.
“Finally getting school choice passed is a direct result of slaughtering so many Dade Phelan cronies in the 2024 Republican primary..”
Governor Abbott can claim credit for this. I always saw him as being somewhat spongy but he showed real leadership in this instance.
Democrats use a strategy to shape fiscal policy. They schedule levy votes in off-year elections, which attracts a distant electorate: government employees, retirees and welfare recipients, all of whom have a firm commitment to expanding tax revenues.
In low turnout elections, a dedicated minority can prevail at the ballot box. Get control of the primary election process and all else follows.