The Senate Education Committee voted 7-3 Thursday to pass Senate Bill 3, a key “private school choice” bill.
The vote came two days after a hearing that lasted more than eight hours, with more than 150 people filling the room to testify in support and opposition. The bill would create two public programs subsidizing private school tuition and homeschooling expenses.
Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, the author of the bill, submitted a new version to the committee for the vote, which he said would decrease the cost of the programs.
Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, voted against the bill, arguing it was too costly and did not require private schools to follow state accountability standards to receive public money.
The measure now heads to the full Senate.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2017/03/23/senate-education-committee-passes-school-choice-bill/.
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