School voucher opponents fill panel
Speaker stocks committee with lawmakers who have opposed the private education plan
Amid a conservative push for private school vouchers, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Wednesday stocked the committee that will set K-12 policies this session full of lawmakers who have opposed using taxpayer money for private education.
Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who decides the makeup of every committee in the lower chamber, appointed state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, to chair the House Public Education Committee. Buckley replaces state Rep. Harold Dutton, the Houston Democrat who was Phelan’s surprise pick to chair the panel in 2021.
Dutton will remain one of the group's 13 members, and one of nine — Buckley included — who voted to ban private school vouchers last session.
Among those who joined Dutton and Buckley in 2021 were Republican state Reps. Steve Allison of San Antonio, Cody Harris of Palestine and Ken King of Canadian. Democrats Alma Allen of Houston and Oscar Longoria of Mission, along with Austin Reps. Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico, also voted for the ban, which ultimately passed the House by a 115-29 margin.
Two of the new members appointed to the committee Wednesday, state Reps. Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant and Matt Schaefer of Tyler, have been supportive of voucher programs in the past. A third member, state Rep. Brian Harrison, RMidlothian, is an outspoken proponent of the idea.
King, who represents a 19county district that includes the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, made clear at a recent Texas Tribune event that he remains opposed to voucher-type measures.
“If I have anything to say about it, it’s dead on arrival,” King said. “It’s horrible for rural Texas. It’s horrible for all of Texas.”
Despite Buckley’s past votes, some voucher proponents hailed his appointment as a positive development for the movement. Texas Republican Party Chair Matt Rinaldi tweeted that Buckley “could be the most school choice friendly Pub Ed chair in over a decade.”
Using the label of “school choice,” conservatives are making another push for a voucher program this session after years of failed votes. The movement
has gained momentum since last year when Gov. Greg Abbott threw his support behind a vouchertype program while campaigning for re-election.
Critics, including Democrats and many rural Republicans, argue that vouchers will divert critical funding from public schools.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential conservative think tank that backs private school vouchers, said Buckley “will be an excellent chair for the House Public Education Committee, and we look forward to working with them this legislative session.”
“This is an important first step in ensuring that Texans have a system that respects the parent and ensures transparency and a high-quality education on school campuses,” Mandy Drogin, campaign director for TPPF’s education-focused Next Generation Texas initiative, said in a statement.