Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:
Senate Committee Approves Vouchers
On Tuesday, the Texas Senate Education Committee voted 9-2 along party lines to advance the private school voucher legislation (SB 2) to the full Senate, with the committee’s nine Republicans in favor and two Democrats opposed. The Senate has scheduled a floor vote for the Tuesday, February 4th, signaling that Governor Abbott will designate the bill as an emergency item, allowing it to pass within the first 60 days of session. The bill’s rapid progress also suggests the Texas House committees will be assigned soon, as the House—historically resistant to vouchers—will be the next battleground.
SB 2 allocates $10,000 per student of taxpayer funds to Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) which allows families to subsidize the cost of private school tuition and other approved education expenses with $11,500 designated for special education students. Both the House and Senate budgets that have been introduced allot $1 billion to fund the voucher program. Of that, 80% is reserved for priority groups like low-income students and students with disabilities, while 20% is universally available. The current arrangement would appropriate enough voucher funds for approximately 100,000 students. However likely contingent upon the passing of ESAs is the other $4.85 billion set aside for public schools which includes teacher pay raises for the first time in six years. With about 5.5 million children in Texas public schools, this funding distributes just under $900 additional per student.
The bill defines “low-income household” as “a household with a total annual income that is at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.” In 2025, a family of four is eligible for public services if they make $44,267 or less–however, the bill’s provision including families making up to 500% would allow a family of four making about $160,000 annually to be included as a low-income household.
The Tuesday hearing lasted approximately 8 hours, with over 100 people providing testimony. Many supporters of the bill shared their own successful voucher testimonies or expressed their excitement for the opportunity to utilize the program. Conversely, many opponents voiced concerns that the bill fails to prioritize low-income students and students with disabilities, despite recognizing them as targeted groups for possibly reaping the benefits of ESAs. Other areas of concern from the opposition focused on the fact that because private schools are not required to abide by federal or state special education accommodations, the that private schools may not be willing to accept students with disabilities.
Border News
Following the lead of President Trump to go on the offensive on border security, Gov. Abbott this week ordered 400 additional National Guard troops to the Rio Grande Valley to assist federal authorities. The Texas troops are now among roughly 1,500 troops activated along the southern border. According to a statement issued by Abbott, the “troops will work side-by-side with US Border Patrol agents to stop illegal immigrants from entering our country.” The additional troops are from the already established Texas Tactical Border Force and will join the thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers that are already in place in the border region as part of the ongoing Operation Lone Star. That operation was established in 2020 by the state to expand the state’s presence at the border. So far, the state has spent $11 billion on Operation Lone Star. The proposed budget for the upcoming biennium that was unveiled last week calls for an additional $6.5 billion for state border security measures.
Gov. Abbott has asked the newly installed Republican Congress to reimburse the state of Texas for the $11 billion it has spent since 2020 on border enforcement and related activities. In his letter asking for the money, Abbott details the money Texas has spent on immigration enforcement activities including grants to local governments for immigration related expenses, processing criminal trespass arrests, and costs for migrant relocations. The state has also spent $4.75 billion on construction of several segments of the border wall.
The Mexican American Caucus (MALC) has sent an official request to the Texas Education Agency to issue guidance to school districts on how to respond to the announcement by the US Department of Homeland Security that schools would not be exempt from the process of immigration enforcement. MALC has asked the agency to provide guidance specifically on the obligation of school and district personnel to protect student information and records in conjunction with privacy laws. MALC is also seeking guidance on protocols for school staff members regarding interaction with federal agents.
This comes as multiple federal agencies have carried out immigration enforcement operations throughout the state. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is working with the FBI, DEA and participating local law enforcement to target and remove “potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities”, according to a statement issued by ICE regarding the operations. The federal agencies have not given specifics regarding the operations, but local news reports have indicated arrests in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.
Lt. Governor Announces Priorities
As Gov. Abbott readies to reveal his legislative agenda on Sunday evening, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick also released a list of legislative priorities for the session. In following the lead of President Trump, Patrick is calling for the establishment of a Texas office of government efficiency — Texas DOGE — that will study and implement cost-cutting measures. Patrick has reserved Senate Bills 1-40 for his legislative priorities. The state budget – SB 1 – and private school vouchers – SB 2, have already been introduced. SB 3 is reserved for the banning of all THC products in the state, but the actual language has not been filed. Other priorities include investing in water infrastructure; increasing the homestead exemption from $100,00 to $140,000; increasing the reliability of the state’s electric grid; placing the Ten Commandments in all public schools; stopping non-citizens from voting; prohibiting taxpayer funded lobbying; and educating the Texas public school students on the horrors of communism.
Texas A&M to Pause Enrollment Growth
Texas A&M will pause the recent increases in undergraduate enrollment for the next five to seven years to allow the school’s infrastructure to catch up with the rapid rise in enrollment over the past decade. The school has seen a 30% increase in enrollment since 2013. There are now 57,000 undergraduates at the College Station campus which compares to 42,000 in 2013. The total student population including graduate students is now 71,000. New undergraduate enrollment will now be limited to 15,000 students per year, with the goal of overall enrollment at no more than 69,500 by the 2029 academic year. In the meantime, university administration will look for solutions to their transportation and parking issues, add additional on-campus housing options, and increase the number of faculty and faculty support positions to lower the student-to-academic advisor, which is now 275 students per one advisor.
Political Notes
Speaking to members of the Denton County Republican Party this week, Attorney General Ken Paxton said he is seriously considering a run against incumbent US Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary. Paxton labeled Cornyn as “insufficiently conservative” and said he was one of several Republican officials that need to be purged from the party. Paxton has criticized Cornyn in the past for a lack of accomplishments during his four terms in the US Senate. In a follow up interview with Fox News after the Denton County event, Paxton said he will decide in the next few weeks on whether he will challenge Cornyn. Paxton said that while he loves being AG of Texas, he confirmed he is seriously considering the race. Paxton said he will be meeting with grassroots activists and donors in the coming weeks to gauge interest in his potential bid.
Gov. Abbott will deliver the State of the State Address this Sunday evening at 5PM. Normally and traditionally the address is intended to be presented in the state Capitol to the Legislature. However, Abbott has chosen to deliver the address at Arnold Oil Company, a supplier of automotive equipment located in Austin. Abbott is expected to name his legislative priorities during the address, which will undoubtedly include border and immigration enforcement, which has been the main focus of his administration. Abbott will also list private school vouchers as a priority since the Senate is expected to debate the voucher legislation on Tuesday.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows will not present the traditional “housekeeping” resolution to the membership for approval this session. The resolution has traditionally been approved by the full membership of the House regarding office budgets, personnel matters, and other administrative functions of the House. Rumors circulated regarding proposed amendments to the resolution regarding the use of bathrooms for transgender individuals and the use of outside legal counsel for members in certain matters. To avoid a potentially nasty floor battle, the Speaker declared that the House Administration Committee has the power to conduct the operations of the House, and the normal resolution was not necessary.
The Texas State Bar has dropped its effort to sanction Attorney General Ken Paxton for his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Paxton joined a coalition of 18 states in filing suit directly with the US Supreme Court that specifically challenged the voting procedures and results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin – all states that Trump lost in 2020. The suit sought to block those states from certifying the results of the election. The State Bar sought to censure Paxton for his involvement in what they deemed to be a “frivolous” lawsuit. The US Supreme Court eventually dismissed the lawsuit saying the state of Texas had no standing to bring the lawsuit. This week, the State Bar dismissed any efforts to pursue sanctions against Paxton.
What’s Next??
The Senate has adjourned until Monday at 10AM when they will meet to refer bills to committees. After referral, committees will start to schedule hearings on legislation. The Senate will take up the private school voucher bill for full debate on Tuesday.
The Senate Finance Committee will continue budget deliberations next week
The House is adjourned until Tuesday at 2PM. House members are expected to receive their committee appointments for the session next week.