AUSTIN – Leaders of the Texas House are facing a very big decision after last week’s pressure-packed school choice rally and a marathon committee hearing on House Bill 3.

House Bill 3 is the House’s version of school choice. The bill is slightly different from Senate Bill 2, which passed last month.

In order for any bill to reach the governor’s desk, a backroom compromise will be needed.

School choice advocate on bills in Texas Legislature

What they’re saying:

FOX 7’s Rudy Koski sat down with Mandy Drogin, the campaign director of Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, to discuss school choice.

Drogin: “It’s critical that all lawmakers realize that we can empower parents to make the best decision for their child and love their child and know where they should be going to school and empower them to make that choice.”

Koski: “Is this a punt on public education?”

Drogin: “Absolutely not. I’m a public school parent myself. We have to acknowledge that there are 50% of the children in our classroom right now that cannot read on grade level. And that’s been going on for over a decade […]  This is not in any way saying that public schools should not be fully funded and lifted up. It means that every single parent should be in charge, and that a one-size-fits-all system based simply on the street that you live on, does not serve every child.”

Koski: “This current plan isn’t every parent. It really isn’t universal. The only universal part is the application process, not the selection process.”

Drogin: “The eligibility.”

Koski: “So a very limited number of people who are actually going to benefit from this program.”

Drogin: “I wouldn’t say it’s limited. 100,000 children will have access.”

Koski: “Of five million children.”

Drogin: “So let’s be clear. We can do both. We can say what we want to do and then HB 2 has about 8 billion more dollars. We are going to spend more than $100 billion.”

Koski: “Opponents will say that’s just a buy down. That’s buying down the tax rate, and it’s really not giving new money.”

Drogin: “Well, that is completely incorrect. There are two different pieces of legislation.”

Koski: “So, is it a labeling problem that the people are missing here?

Drogin: “It’s not a labeling problem. It’s not a voucher, which is what opposition likes to use. No. An education savings account allows parents to truly customize their child’s education […] it’s not a scholarship. […] There is not going to be a mass exodus from our public school system. So claiming that it’s not truly universal is false. Eligibility, every single child in the state of Texas is eligible. Now, the appropriation is what you’re talking about. There is $1 billion appropriated this year. That would be enough for approximately 100,000 students whose families needed another choice. And then there’s the prioritization. As we’ve heard in the committee, it is prioritized for low and middle-income families as well as our special education students.”

Koski: “Is the plan to come back later and create more money and is that contingent on the surplus?”

Drogin: “At this moment? Yeah, absolutely. It’s contingent on demand.”

You can watch ‘Texas: The Issue Is’ Sundays on your local FOX station or on the free FOX LOCAL app.

Traffic along Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane had slowed to a crawl late Thursday so cars could merge into one lane when a big rig barreled into them, causing a chain reaction that killed five people, federal investigators said Saturday.

The 18-wheeler, operated by a Dallas-area company, “failed to slow down” as it reached where vehicles were consolidating from three lanes into one because of a resurfacing project by the Texas Department of Transportation, according to National Transportation Safety Board officials.

Those killed, including an infant and a child, were inside two cars, NTSB investigators said.

“This is a difficult situation, and my heart and prayers go out to everyone involved,” NTSB Vice Chairman Alvin Brown told reporters Saturday afternoon in Austin.

Brown and investigator-in-charge Kenny Bragg said it is unclear at what speed the truck, driven by Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, was traveling when he hit the cars. Analysts will seek to determine how fast he was going using video from the scene and information stored on the truck.

The brief news conference offered the clearest insight into the cause of the crash, which also left the major thoroughfare closed nearly most of the day Friday. As many as 19 cars were hit during the crash, Austin police said in a search warrant affidavit.

NTSB officials did not discuss the criminal charges against Araya, who Austin police arrested on five charges of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. He remains in the Travis County Jail.

The affidavit said that police think he was under the influence of depressants and showed signs of intoxication, including swaying and watery and bloodshot eyes. Araya tested 0.00 on a breath test, the affidavit said.

On Saturday, Amazon spokeswoman Maureen Lynch Vogel confirmed the driver was hauling a load for the company.

“This is a horrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with all those involved. We’re looking into this further and will cooperate with all investigations,” she said in a statement.

A person who answered the phone at ZBN Transport confirmed that Araya, who lives in Dallas, was his employee and had worked for the company for about four months.

NTSB officials said their investigation will consider broader issues that may have contributed to the crash and will likely issue a preliminary report in 30 days. A final report could take up to two years.

Bragg said the agency’s effort is to “not just what happened and how it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.”

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