Austin, TX
Texas bishops hail passage of school choice bill in state Legislature
Seattle, Wash., Apr 19, 2025 /
08:00 am
The Texas House of Representatives this week approved a sweeping school choice bill, one hailed by the state’s Catholic bishops and which could significantly reshape how families access private and religious education in the state.
Senate Bill 2 passed 86–63 after intense debate. The bill would create a $1 billion Education Savings Account (ESA) program, giving eligible families up to $10,000 per student to spend on tuition, transportation, therapy, and other education-related expenses. It previously passed the state Senate in February.
The measure now heads to a conference committee where lawmakers will reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions.
Texas Catholic leaders welcomed the bill’s passage this week.
“Thank you to all who worked so hard for passage of this legislation that will give parents a true choice for the education of their children,” Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth said on X.
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops likewise praised the vote, calling it the result of sustained collaboration.
“We have worked alongside you and so many others for this day,” the bishops wrote, naming state House Speaker Dustin Burrows, state Gov. Greg Abbott, and other legislative champions of parental choice.
Abbott, who has made school choice a central plank of his legislative agenda, praised the bill’s passage. “I look forward to this school choice legislation reaching my desk, when I will swiftly sign it into law,” he posted on Instagram.
The vote was also celebrated by longtime school choice advocates. The Texas Public Policy Foundation, which has supported ESA legislation for years, called the bill’s passage a generational victory.
Growing share of Catholic students take part in school choice
This week the National Catholic Educational Association reported that nearly 1 in 5 Catholic school students across the U.S. now participate in a school choice program — up nearly 5 percentage points from last year.
In states with robust choice legislation, Catholic schools are seeing enrollment stabilize and even grow after decades of decline.
Texas’ 230 Catholic schools serve approximately 75,000 students, many from working-class and immigrant families. With tuition averaging more than $7,000 per year, schools have long relied on parish subsidies and scholarship funds to make education accessible, meaning the proposed ESA could make Catholic education a sustainable option for many families.
While Catholic leaders and school choice advocates cheered the vote, others in the Texas Legislature criticized the measure. Every state House Democrat opposed the bill, arguing that it would siphon funds away from public schools already facing budget shortfalls.
State Rep. James Talarico proposed putting the issue to a statewide vote. His amendment failed.
“Private school vouchers will take money out of our public schools and give it to wealthy parents who are already sending their kids to private school,” he claimed after the vote.
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Amendments to expand the bill’s eligibility and support lower-income families were also rejected, drawing further criticism from Democrats and public school advocates.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Thursday that he would recommend the state Senate concur with the House version without changes.
“I’ve fought for school choice for my entire legislative career. Now, in consultation with Sen. Brandon Creighton, I am recommending the Senate concur with Senate Bill 2 — the largest school choice launch in American history,” Patrick wrote on X.
The bill also expands vocational training pathways. State Rep. Gary Gates told CNA the ESA framework aligns with House Bill 20, which he authored to allow high school students to attend Texas State Technical College full time.
“We have an incredible shortage of highly skilled labor in this country,” Gates said. “Here, a high school student could come out of school with no debt.”
If enacted, the ESA program could launch as early as the coming academic year.
María J. Moriarty is a freelance journalist with more than 10 years of experience in the field. She holds a master’s degree in mass communication and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Originally from Mexico City, she started her career in broadcast before pivoting to financial reporting, where she’s spent the majority of her career.
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Trevor Goosby is a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2027 NFL Draft. The Texas offensive lineman anchors the group up front for one of the best teams in the country and was named a preseason All-American by Walter Camp.
But his football career felt in jeopardy when he was in high school.
“That was kind of my biggest question,” said Goosby. “I was really nervous because would I be the same football player coming back?”
Goosby was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when he was just 16 years old. He wasn’t sure how this would change his everyday life, including his football career.
“Definitely a lot of nerves just because you’re getting your ribs cracked open essentially and getting your heart worked on…It was a scary moment. I remember driving up to the hospital super nervous.”
Goosby was able to recover and become a great football player. He said not only has he become a person in learning to fight through adversity, but it helped him as a player as well with improved endurance.
Now, the star Longhorn is giving back as much as possible.
Goosby hosted a camp in Austin to benefit the Children’s Heart Foundation. The organization works to fund research on congenital heart defects.
The offensive tackle is matching all donations up to $20,000 made to the Children’s Heart Foundation through the event and campaign.
“It means a lot to me just because of the heart condition I did have back when I was 16. That just kind of changed my life. I just want to bring awareness to that.”
The camp was at Hyde Park High School in Northwest Austin. Goosby spoke about what he hopes the young campers took away from the event.
“I think it’s just more than football. Football is a big part of what I do but it’s not who I am…I just want to show all these kids that I’m just another great guy and just someone they can look up to.”
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is getting its first major new national stock exchange in decades, and finance experts say it could create new opportunities for Austin’s tech companies and startups looking to grow.
The Texas Stock Exchange is launching this week in Dallas, with live trading expected to begin as early as Friday. The exchange began operations Monday, and it says all publicly traded stocks should be available on the platform by the end of the month. Thousands of publicly traded stocks are expected to be available by then.
Ray Perryman, President and CEO of the Perryman Group, said the launch signals Texas’ growing influence in the financial sector.
“It really lets the world know that Texas is indeed a major player in this industry,” Perryman said.
Gov. Greg Abbott called the exchange another sign of Texas’ expanding economic reach, saying, “This is another step that expands the financial might of Texas in the United States, and cements our economic power on the global stage.”
ALSO| Past and present teachers are charged with improving student outcomes in Texas
Perryman said the exchange could provide another path for companies to go public and could help attract more growing companies to Austin and the rest of the state. He said the added access to capital could have ripple effects across the economy.
“It increases opportunities for firms in the area to expand, have access to capital, to be more profitable. That means they hire more people. That means they pay more taxes. That means they buy more things in their supply chains,” Perryman said.
Texas ranks second in the U.S. for Fortune 500 headquarters, behind California and ahead of New York. With the Texas Stock Exchange set to launch, experts say Austin’s startup community could see even more growth.
Perryman said Austin-area tech firms could benefit from having an in-state exchange option.
“They’ll now have a vehicle here in Texas that will be more efficient and less expensive to register on than the traditional exchanges,” Perryman said.
Perryman said the exchange’s success will depend on how many companies choose to list on it, how much investment it attracts, and how many additional companies decide to move to Texas.
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