Austin, TX

Explaining SB2, the proposal for Texas Education Savings Accounts

Published

1 year ago

February 13, 2025

Explaining SB2, the proposal for Texas Education Savings Accounts

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Education savings accounts are a top priority for Governor Abbott and the Texas Legislature this session.

Born from the concept of “school choice,” lawmakers are hoping to give Texas families the opportunity to remove their children from public school and send them to private school.

“The issue I hear mostly from parents is that they are angry at a ‘woke’ agenda being pushed on their [public school] kids,” Governor Abbott said during a rally at a private school last week.

The concept of “school choice” isn’t new. America First Policy Institute reports at least 32 states across the country have some form of voucher system. Those include vouchers, tax-credit scholarship programs, and education savings accounts.

Vouchers are simply taxpayer dollars made available for families to use for private school tuition. Tax-credit scholarship programs involve businesses or individuals donating to a scholarship fund in exchange for tax credits.

Education savings accounts, which Texas lawmakers hope to implement, are state-supported bank accounts that parents can access for things like private school tuition and transportation.

SB2 requires the Texas Comptroller’s Office to set those accounts up and comb through applications. It also proposes accountability measures. The bill requires the Comptroller’s Office to contract with a company that will regularly audit the accounts.

Senate Bill 2 proposes $10,000 be made available per student, per year. That number increases to $11,500 for students with disabilities and could also provide $2,000 for homeschool students.

Any child already enrolled in public school, from pre-K to high school seniors, is eligible for a savings account. Any child already enrolled in private school can also apply.

It is important to keep in mind; however, that private schools are not required to accept a student, even if they can pay tuition. That’s one of the major concerns for lawmakers and parents who are against SB2.

“You’re telling us this bill would allow hard-working Texans’ taxpaying dollars the ability to be presented to a private institution that could deny that student?” State Senator Jose Menendez, of San Antonio, asked of the bill’s author. “The Texas constitution requires equal educational opportunities. It has a mandate for us to do that. How do you reconcile the two?”

Both chambers of the legislature agreed to initially set aside $1 billion for this program. There are more than 5.5 million students enrolled in public schools across Texas, according to the Texas Education Agency. That means the state’s education savings accounts will only allow 0.018% of the student population to switch to private school.

That percentage also has lawmakers concerned, and questioning who would receive the funds at the end of the day.

“In terms of our public school system, it’s predominately minority, is it not? And private schools are predominately white? So, we are about to fund a component of the state’s education system that is currently, let’s say, 75 percent white,” State Senator Royce West, of Dallas, asked on the Senate floor.

If demand surpasses state funding, only children with disabilities or those who fall 500% under the federal poverty line will be considered for the accounts. In 2024, the federal poverty line for a family of four was $31,200. Five times that amount would be $156,000 a year.

The state conducted a fiscal analysis of SB2 last month. That report estimates Texas will need to set aside $4 billion for the savings accounts by 2030. Public schools rely on attendance for state funding, and the report estimates 98,000 students will leave public schools for private schools by that same year.

It’s not yet clear when the House will take SB2 up. Committees were just created on Thursday. That means the bill will now have to pass through the House’s Public Education Committee before it can be brought to the floor for a vote.

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Austin, TX

Multiple people injured in mass shooting on 6th St; Austin Police investigating

Published

6 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Multiple people injured in mass shooting on 6th St; Austin Police investigating

Austin Police are investigating a mass shooting at Buford’s on West 6th Street that’s left multiple people injured.

This happened around 2 A.M. as the bar was closing.

The number of people injured is not known.

Austin Police are also investigating an Officer Involved Shooting in the 600 block of Rio Grande Street.

They say the suspect is deceased.

APD says the call originated as a shoot/stab hotshot incident with multiple people injured.

Austin Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department are also on the scene.

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This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.

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Austin, TX

State of the Texas Longhorns: Where UT athletics stands in early 2026

Published

19 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

State of the Texas Longhorns: Where UT athletics stands in early 2026

If Bevo had to step in front of the microphones, cameras and Texas football fans everywhere to deliver an annual State of the Longhorns address, what would he say?

Maybe he would expound on the virtues of Arch Manning and deride the College Football Playoff committee for leaving the Longhorns out. Or maybe he would just as for some more hay to snack on.

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Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith (26) lifts the trophy with head coach Steve Sarkisianas the Longhorns celebrate after winning the Citrus Bowl 41-27 against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025. — Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith (26) lifts the trophy with head coach Steve Sarkisianas the Longhorns celebrate after winning the Citrus Bowl 41-27 against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

Bevo and his predecessors have been stomping on the sidelines of Texas games for over 100 years. It might require a few hundred more years and some substantial evolutionary progress before he’s ready to deliver the burnt orange equivalent of the President’s annual State of the Union Address, which took place Tuesday night.

Bevo XV makes his way into Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium during before the start of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M Aggies in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
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Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman

For now, we’ll take on the task for him. Here’s where things stand with the Longhorns in early 2026.

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Where the Texas Longhorns rank nationally

Texas won the Learfield Directors’ Cup — awarded to the best-performing athletic department in the country — for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years in 2025. That’s a remarkable achievement.

How likely are the Longhorns to repeat in 2026?

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MORE: Texas football is spending a lot on its coaches. Why Steve Sarkisian says it’s necessary

It’s tough to predict. Texas didn’t have a great fall, by its standards. The Longhorns rank 31st in the Directors’ Cup standings, with fifth-place, 13th-place and 33rd-place finishes in women’s volleyball, football and men’s cross country finishes marking the only areas where they picked up points.

The good news for Texas is that the fall typically isn’t kind to the Longhorns. Last year, they came out of the autumn ranked 16th.

The winter should be much better. Texas, as usual, has national championship contenders in both men’s and women’s swimming. The Longhorns have an elite women’s basketball team and top-20 teams in men’s and women’s indoor track and field. They can make up some serious ground when results for those sports are tabulated in April.

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We know less about the Longhorns’ outlook in the spring sports, many of which are just getting going, but that has been a source of strength for UT in years past. Last year, North Carolina paced the Directors’ Cup field after the fall and winter events were scored. Texas nearly doubled the Tar Heels’ spring score to chase them down.

How Texas matches up with its in-state rival Texas A&M

Any successful political endeavor requires success in your power base.

Texas’ move to the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 athletic campaign led to the revival of the Lone Star Showdown against local rival Texas A&M. Like the Directors’ Cup, the Lone Star Showdown measures the results of all sports, compiling outcomes of games between the Aggies and Longhorns throughout the academic year.

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MORE: What a hot start for Dylan Volantis, UT pitchers means for Longhorns

Last year, Texas won the Lone Star Showdown over Texas A&M by a final score of 11-7.

This year, the Aggies hold a 5.5-4 lead at the time of publication. Texas A&M has bested the Longhorns in soccer, cross country, volleyball, women’s tennis and men’s basketball, while Texas took home points in football, women’s basketball and swimming and diving.

There are still 9.5 points up for grabs. Half a point is at stake when the men’s basketball teams meet in College Station on Saturday, Two more points can be had this weekend at the SEC indoor track championships, too.

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Texas Longhorns have a down year financially

The campaign funds did not flow as freely for the Longhorns in the 2025 fiscal year.

Texas made a $23.3 million loss, according to financial documents reviewed by the American-Statesman.

The Longhorns attribute most of that to a diminished SEC media rights share — a stipulation Texas agreed to in order to leave the Big 12 for the SEC a year earlier than originally planned. The average SEC school took in $72.4 million in conference distributions in 2025. Texas received just $12.1 million.

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Texas officials say they’re not concerned about their financial position because their agreement with the SEC puts them in line for a full revenue share in the next fiscal year. Rob Novak, the Longhorns’ Chief Financial Officer, said the $23.3 million loss was considered a good financial outcome internally.

And, Novak says, the Longhorns had cash to fall back on. He told the Statesman that the Athletic Department still has over $30 million available in reserve after earning a profit for three consecutive years prior to 2025.

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Austin, TX

Vibe Coding the Vote: Austin Founder Launches AI Election Tool

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Vibe Coding the Vote: Austin Founder Launches AI Election Tool

AUSTIN, Texas — Early voting is wrapping up for the midterm election, and Election Day is March 3rd.

With federal offices, statewide races, and local propositions on the ballot, it’s a packed slate. And for many voters, preparing can feel overwhelming.

Josh Baer knows that feeling well.

“Every year I put an hour on my calendar or two to where I’m supposed to get ready to vote,” Baer said. “I’m supposed to read the voting guides and kind of get prepared. And to be honest, it never seems to work. I always just actually don’t feel very prepared.”

Baer is the founder and CEO of Capital Factory, a startup accelerator and investment hub. This year, instead of struggling through the ballot, he turned to artificial intelligence.

He gave AI two specific instructions.

“I said, one, go download all the best nonpartisan voting guides so that you can read all of them and know what’s going on,” Baer explained. “And then two, I said, interview me so you understand my kind of voting preferences. And then tell me who I should vote for and why.”

Within seconds, the AI generated a nine-page report. It broke down every race and proposition, recommended who he should vote for, and explained why. It also created a condensed cheat sheet for Election Day.

“It was really amazing,” Baer said. “And I felt the most prepared I’ve ever felt going into voting.”

That experience sparked a bigger idea.

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Baer decided to build a website so others could do the same thing. He began what’s known as “vibe coding,” using AI tools to help create the platform.

“It took a few days of me tinkering around with it, but really just from that prompt, I got this incredible website where anybody can go and do the same thing I did,” he said. “And then I said, make it safe. Ensure it’s nonpartisan. Make sure it’s open, and people can trust it.”

The result is TXVotes.app.

Baer says Anthropic’s Claude AI handled much of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. But he didn’t stop there.

He also asked other AI systems — including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, xAI’s Grok, and Google’s Gemini — to review the site and suggest improvements. He then used their feedback to refine the tool.

Baer says privacy and transparency are central to the app’s design.

“You can look at the website and see how it works and why it works,” he said. “But most importantly, in just about five minutes, you can be the most prepared you’ve ever been for any election you’ve walked into.”

As early voting continues, Baer hopes the tool can make researching the ballot faster, easier, and less intimidating for voters across Texas.

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