Gov. Abbott is optimistic that the Texas legislature can pass school choice policies in the ongoing special session, amid skepticism from other officials.
"We are on track to ensure there will not be another special session," Abbott said in a press conference Wednesday morning. "There is enough time to get everything done that we want to get done that needs to get done to avoid a special session, especially with what I think will be the bill that will be coming out of the House later on today. I think that it will be embraced because so many legislators have so many wins in the bill that will be coming out today.
Upon publication, the new House bill that includes details from the expanded special session call has not been made publicly available. It is reported by the Governor to include billions of dollars in investments in public schools and a gradual phasing out of STAAR testing. "I agree with that there's still time, but only if the House subs their suggested language into SB1, School Choice, and SB2, Teacher Pay Raises," Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said in a statement on social media. "With Constitutional procedural requirements and House and Senate rules, there is simply no time to start over with a new House bill.
"I think the process is flexible enough that if the will is there to move forward on this particular compromise, it'll move forward," Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project, told CBS Austin. "They've been talking about this now, not only for months but for years in many ways. And so the particulars of the legislation do matter, but if legislators are looking and the will is there to move on a school voucher program, they will get it done.
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