Austin, TX

Texas lawmakers approve school choice bill after nearly 11 hours of debate

Published

11 months ago

April 17, 2025

Texas lawmakers approve school choice bill after nearly 11 hours of debate

AUSTIN, Texas (KWTX) – Texas lawmakers approved a controversial bill in Austin early Thursday morning.

The school choice bill was passed in an 85-62 vote – two were absent. The measure will provide taxpayer-funded education savings accounts, allowing students in public schools to attend private schools if accepted into the state’s program.

Under the bill, students will receive $10,000 each year if they attend a private school. Disabled students would receive up to $30,000 a year and home-schooled students would get $2,000.

“This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children…I applaud the legislators who took a stand with the overwhelming majority of Texans who support school choice,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

Abbott said that President Trump supports school choice as well.

“[Trump] called this morning to share his support for the Texas House passing SB 2 today,” Abbott said on social media.

Abbott and Speaker Dustin Burrows have said for months that they have more than the 76 votes required to pass the bill.

“Today marks a historic chapter for education in our state, with the Texas House passing its landmark ‘Texas Two Step’ proposals to deliver more education opportunities for students alongside the largest-ever increase in public school funding,” Burrows said.

The vote took place just after 2 a.m. Thursday, after the House heard 43 amendment proposals to the bill. All proposed amendments were tabled.

The vote was divided between Democrats and Republicans. Out of all the votes, two Republicans joined all Democrats to vote against the bill.

Democrats expressed disappointment about the outcome, calling it welfare for the rich. Democrats also expressed concern that this program will hurt school districts by taking money away from them.

Most Republicans say that’s not true and they supported the legislation.

“Working families are going to be the ones who will foot the bill for this voucher scam,” said Texas Democrats Chair Kendall Scudder. “We’re deeply disappointed in the lawmakers who chose to fall in line instead of standing up for their communities.”

The House will take a final vote later on Thursday. The bill will then go to the Texas Senate, where lawmakers will decide whether to go along with the House’s changes or make their own changes.

HB 2: Public school funding bill

On Wednesday, the House passed HB 2, the public school funding bill. It passed 144-4, with two absent. Republican leaders said it represents the largest increase in funding for public schools.

“Texas public schools are the backbone of our communities, and today the House delivered a historic investment to bolster public education for the next generation,” Burrows said Wednesday. “House Bill 2 lays the foundation for a modernized, responsive school finance system that will grow with the needs of Texas students while targeting taxpayer dollars where they’ll make the greatest impact for students and teachers.

Under this bill’s proposals and others, the House will inject $9 billion in new money. That includes raising the basic allotment to school districts by $395. Forty percent of the new funding will go toward teacher pay raises and salary increases for other staff. The basic allotment would increase every two years.

Democrats have said the state doesn’t spend enough money on public education when compared to other states. Republicans, though, said they have continued to spend more money on schools.

As lawmakers debate the bills, various local school districts across North Texas have passed deficit budgets because of record inflation and after Republican lawmakers left $4.5 billion for schools on the sidelines. The districts have also faced declining student enrollment, which has cost them funding as well.

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

8 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

20 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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Austin, TX

Here are the major statewide and Austin-area races on the ballot Tuesday

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Here are the major statewide and Austin-area races on the ballot Tuesday

A voter heads into the Ben Hur Shrine polling place in Austin as early voting begins for the March primary elections in Texas, Feb. 17, 2026. Voters can cast their ballots to decide who represents Republicans and Democrats in the November midterm elections.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

A rare mix of competitive races up and down the ballot has voters turning up to the polls in droves ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, which will set match-ups in the high-stakes midterms in November.

Voters will decide if U.S. Sen. John Cornyn gets to keep the seat he’s held for more than two decades and which candidates will likely take a slew of redrawn congressional seats meant to give Republicans an edge. The races could decide control of Congress.