Texas Speaker Burrows says school choice will pass in the House "The votes are there to do this"
This week, for the first time, the new Speaker of the Texas House, Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said school choice will pass.
His comments come amid rising pressure on him to get the controversial bill across the finish line that would give taxpayer money for students to attend private school.
Burrows has heard on social media about the need to pass school choice in Texas from some of the biggest names on the planet, including President Trump and Elon Musk. He got the message.
"I'm proud to say the votes are there to do this in the Texas House," Burrows said in San Antonio earlier this week at a school choice event.
While Burrows said he believes school choice will pass, Democratic Representative Miheala Plesa isn't impressed and sad it's too early to say that.
"I understand the Speaker might say that you know," said Plesa. "This was a huge Republican talking point."
The Senate has already passed a $1 billion bill that would allow taxpayer money to be used to help as many as 100,000 students attend private school. The school would be open to all students.
Various polls have shown a majority of Texans support school choice. To help them win over public opinion, Democrats created an interactive website called, Don'tDefundMySchool.com.
Plesa said the website shows how much money different school districts would lose if this passed, and students left for private school. The site doesn't disclose the estimates it uses to come up with the specific amounts.
"I think this is a tool for their constituents to use and then contact their lawmakers and say, 'We are a strong no on SB 2 or any voucher scam that's coming out of the Texas legislature,'" Plesa said.
Burrows, though, said school choice is about education freedom.
"Every family deserves access to high-quality education and if a parent is not satisfied with their child's school, they should have the freedom to do something about it," said Burrows.
Burrows said the House will file school choice and other education bills later this week. He said the House will pass legislation to give teachers a pay raise.
This week, the Texas Senate introduced a nearly $5 billion bill that would give teachers a permanent pay raise. For districts with more than 5,000 students, teachers with three and four years of experience would receive an extra $2,500, and teachers with five or more years of experience would get a $5,500 raise.
In districts that have 5,000 or fewer students, teachers would get a $5,000 raise if they have three and four years of experience.
Teachers in these districts who have five or more years of experience would get a $10,000 pay bump. The teachers who go from four to five years experience the next year will get more money.
These proposed pay increases would not replace any raises the teachers are due to receive from their school districts.
Plesa said it's a good start.
"I am 100% supportive of making sure that our teachers are getting paid," she said.
