The school voucher bill has been filed
And a good list of representatives you should stay away from in small, airless rooms
This wasn’t a particularly fun newsletter to write, so I’m going to start this by sharing an extremely sexy radish that I accidentally grew. My friend said, “I bet she’s on ALL the apps.”
See, I thought I’d planted mustard greens but instead they were radishes that grew to about three feet tall. When I started pulling it all out after the freeze, I realized my mistake. I managed to grow some radishes that were bigger than potatoes. These are inedible of course and are going into the compost pile.
Ok, now to the news:
SB2, the Public School Death Bill was filed on Friday. The gist is that if a family enrolls their child in a private school, the student will receive $10,000 per year or $11,500 if the student has a disability. It also provides $2,000 per year to homeschooled students. It would doom public schools even further, sending money to private — often religious — schools. I’m not going to go into much more detail as I assume people know how deeply problematic this legislation is.
Chandra Villanueva, director of policy and advocacy at Every Texan, which opposes vouchers, said she doesn’t think the bill’s prioritizing of low-income students or children with disabilities if demand for the program exceeds funding will have that much of an impact.
“Most low-income families won’t be able to afford the tuition gap for a private school, or they’ll be sending their kids to a lower quality school because they market themselves as private but don’t really offer anything above and beyond what a public education would,” she said.
Villanueva added she doesn’t think the bill will help special education students much either, given a relatively small number of private schools in the state specializing in serving students with disabilities.
David DeMatthews, an education professor at the University of Texas at Austin, called it “absurd” that the proposal allows private schools to ignore federal and state protections that ensure children with disabilities receive proper evaluations and educational services.
“I think this is an example of the creation of an education market that is not for everybody,” DeMatthews said. “Because you're asking parents to waive protections that are solidified in federal law. There’s going to be parents who are not willing to do that.”
It didn’t get passed last session, and it’s hard to know what will happen during this one with House Republicans as fractured as they are. The Senate Education Committee will hold a public hearing for the proposal 11 a.m. Tuesday, and I’ll be watching and will report back.
As we head into the RFK Jr. (I promise you won’t regret clicking on that link) confirmation hearing this week, here’s a handy list compiled by a terrible person of Texas reps who have “voted against optional mask mandates during committee meetings AND are on record calling for the COVID shots to be pulled off the market.”
From the Houston area we have Briscoe Cain, Steve Toth and Valoree Swanson. Parents out there should keep their young children far away from Cain’s Stepford children, but that’s probably a good idea regardless of their vaxx status.
There are a handful of “vaccine choice” bills that have been filed this session. From the Texas Tribune today:
While most of the vaccine bills 10 years ago were filed by Democrats to strengthen vaccine use, the opposite is now true — Republicans are filing most of the bills which aim to claw back vaccine requirements. There is even a House joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would preserve Texans’ right to refuse a vaccination.
The proposal is among more than 20 bills endorsed by Hardy’s group that have been filed, most of them before the legislative session began this month. Among them include legislation that would:
Make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccinations.
Ensure no one is denied medical care based on vaccination status.
Keep across-the-board vaccine mandates at bay.
Give the Texas Legislature final approval on any new vaccinations required by schools.
Apply more rules for dispensing the COVID-19 vaccination.
Demand more transparency when it comes to a national clearinghouse on adverse effects of vaccines.
I just don’t know, guys. I just don’t know.
In other incredibly bleak news today, at least six Texas children under age 12 left the state in 2023 to get abortions. These are children who have been sexually assaulted/ abused, usually by family members, and have no ability to receive an abortion in Texas. Additionally:
In the years before the abortion ban took effect in August 2022, between 1,000 and 1,400 Texas minors received abortions in the state annually. There were none in 2023, data from Texas’ Health and Human Services department shows. At least 105 Texas children got an abortion out of state in 2023, the majority of them between the ages of 16 and 17.
So of course now we have an epidemic of teen pregnancy in our state, but that’s what JD Vance wants, so that’s what he’s gonna get.
I regret to inform you that I agree with Briscoe Cain on something.
Sorry this wasn’t a very fun newsletter! Things are bad!