School's Out: Special Session Ending Without School Choice Bill

The fourth special session of the Texas Legislature is dwindling away with no school choice plan in sight. The state House killed Gov. Greg Abbott's preferred school choice plan earlier this month, voting to strip out the Education Savings Accounts from a larger education bill. That leaves both chambers in limbo, running out the clock until the current session expires Dec. 6. The question now is what happens next? "Right now, a lot of people are just playing the waiting game," says Brandon Waltens, editor of Texas Scorecard. "And seeing whether or not the governor is going to call lawmakers back, or if he's going to make this a campaign season issue and take it to the voters in March."

So far, Abbott has played coy about whether he will call a fifth special session. Previously, the governor threatened to continue calling special sessions for as long as necessary to pass a school choice bill, which has been one of his top legislative priorities since the regular session last spring. But in recent days, Abbott was more vague in his statements, vowing to continue the fight for school choice, "in the Texas Legislature and at the ballot box."

That ballot box strategy is already starting to play out, with Abbott endorsing the primary opponents of GOP lawmakers who voted with Democrats to kill school choice...while some of those members are already bowing out. "Just in the last week alone, we've had two of those Republicans who voted against school choice announce that they are going to be leaving the Legislature, and you could see some more of that," says Waltens. "For the others, a lot of those who sided with Democrats are going to have to answer for that in the Republican primaries, so I think this only adds fuel to that fire."

Regardless of whether Abbott calls another special session, Waltens believes the school choice issue likely won't be determined until the next regular legislative session in 2025. "The chances right now, frankly, of school choice passing this year or even next year, look pretty slim," he tells KTRH.