Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he was not discouraged after the Texas House took a key vote rejecting one his highest priorities this legislative session.
The House voted 86-52 on Thursday to amend the budget to ban state funding for “school vouchers or other similar programs.”
Abbott has spent the past two months touring the state to build support for the proposal, spending tremendous political capital on trying to break through the rural Republican opposition to it.
The amendment came at a crucial time — the same day the Senate passed legislation to create a voucher-like program and five days before a House committee considers proposals on the subject.
“Governor Abbott made education freedom an emergency item this legislative session because no one knows the needs of their child better than a parent,” Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze said in a statement. “The … amendment received the least support ever. This vote shows the legislature remains open to school choice, supporting the majority of Texans who want to expand school choice.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/07/greg-abbott-school-choice-vouchers-house-legislature/