Burrows Blinks, Vouchers Removed From HB 3

After news came out that Chairman Dustin Burrows buried language that would allow school vouchers in the omnibus pandemic relief bill HB 3, the state representative decided to remove the language from the bill.

The bill included a provision that allowed private entities to receive funds from school districts that don’t offer full-time in-person learning, but if the district failed to pay within 46 days, the state would take over and pay the private entity.

According to a tweet by Pastors for Texas Children, Burrows decided to remove the language from the bill on Tuesday.

Burrows allegedly received negative feedback about the voucher from a variety of school advocacy groups and even other state legislators. Texas Parent Pac, a political action committee which supports pro-public education candidates said, “Let’s not Florida our Texas with the Burrows Voucher in this session’s HB 3. Unqualified, uneducated ‘teachers’ rob students in FL’s taxpayer-funded private school vouchers scheme,” and indicated that vouchers hurt workforce development and the future economy.

One other voucher bill remains so far this session and that is Rep. Steve Toth’s HB 1015 which has been referred to the House Public Education Committee. The bill would allow private entities to use public funds to create a microgrant program for students in the Houston area.

The committee substitute for HB 3 is expected to be out as early as tomorrow.