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Daily Brew: April 24, 2025
Welcome to the Thursday, April 24, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Texas House of Representatives passes bill to create universal education savings account program
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbot signs state DOGE and judicial nondeference bill
- Sixty-nine years ago today, Alaska voters approved a measure using the Tennessee Plan to pursue statehood
Texas House of Representatives passes bill to create universal education savings account program
As part of our ongoing research into education policy, we're following important legislation in various state legislatures. Recently, on April 17, the Texas House of Representatives voted 85-63 to approve Senate Bill 2 (SB2), which would establish a universal education savings account (ESA) program in the state. All 85 lawmakers who voted for the bill were Republicans, while two Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against it.
According to an April 7 legislative budget analysis, the House proposal:
- sets a $1 billion spending cap for education savings accounts in the first two years of the program, starting in the 2026-2027 school year
- provides an amount equal to 85% of state and local funding per public school student (estimated between $10,300 and $10,900) in an ESA for eligible students that families can use on approved educational alternatives, including private schools, online education, open-enrollment charter schools, higher education, and related courses, materials, and programs
- provides up to $30,000 for participating special education students each year
- provides up to $2,000 per year for homeschooled students
- establishes the ESA amount at a percentage based on the total amount in the Foundation School Program (FSP)
Any child who is a citizen or national and is eligible to attend public schools or open-enrollment charter schools is eligible for an ESA. SB2 authorizes the parent of an eligible child to apply for the program for the following school year. The bill would also require the state to prioritize students who are siblings of program participants, students with disabilities below a certain income threshold, and all other students below a certain income threshold.
On Feb. 5, the Texas Senate passed another version of SB2 with some different provisions, 21-19. All Democrats and one Republican voted against it. After the final House vote, the two chambers will need to come up with one version. Following the House vote, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) said the Senate should concur with the House's amendments. If the Senate does so, the bill will go to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for signature.
As our April 17 Daily Brew mentioned, at least 15 states have adopted universal school choice programs since 2022. Seventeen other states have some sort of school choice program, and 18 states do not have any private school choice programs. Universal school choice policies provide government funding to families for private educational expenses, such as private school tuition or homeschooling textbooks.
After the House vote, Abbott said, "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. … When it reaches my desk, I will swiftly sign this bill into law."
Opponents of the bill said it would harm rural students and students with disabilities. Rep. Chris Turner (D) said, "Are we really willing to trade an efficient system of public, free schools that serve all children for an inefficient system of private, expensive schools that will only serve a privileged few?"
According to the Texas Tribune, this is the first time the House has passed legislation to make state funds available to families for private education since it voted to pass HB257 in 1957. That bill—which the House passed three years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954—would have provided grants for educational purposes to children kept out of public schools "due to there being no separate public school provided for children of that race" in their district. It never became law.
This is also not the first time the House has considered legislation to create education savings accounts in recent years. In 2023, 21 Republicans voted with Democrats to defeat another bill that would have implemented them.
In response, Abbott endorsed all the representatives who voted for the ESA program and sought re-election in the 2024 Republican primaries. Abbott also backed 11 candidates who ran against representatives who opposed the bill. Of the 16 incumbents who voted against HB1 and ran for re-election, nine lost in the primaries or runoffs, and Abbott endorsed the challenger who won in seven of those races.
Voting patterns on HB1 showed differences among Republican legislators. Twenty-nine percent of rural Republicans voted to remove ESAs from the bill compared to 18% of urban and suburban Republicans—a difference of approximately 10 percentage points.
In addition to deciding on SB2, the Texas Legislature has also recently decided on other legislation on education policy:
- On April 16, the House passed House Bill 2 (HB2) in a 144-4 vote. That bill would increase the base funding for public schools per student from $6,160 to $6,555, an $8 billion funding increase. The bill includes a provision to increase funding every two years based on property value growth.
- On April 8, the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 12 (SJR 12) in a 21-9 vote. That bill would put an amendment on the ballot to establish a right for parents to direct their child's education, including accessing teaching materials and attending governing board meetings within the public school system or choosing an alternative to public school.
In our March 10 episode of On the Ballot, we examined the debate over universal school choice programs and how they affect rural school districts. Click here to listen. To learn more about that topic, visit our new resource portal.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot signs state DOGE and judicial nondeference bill
On April 23, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) signed Senate Bill 14 (SB14) into law. SB14 seeks to create a new department that promotes efficiency in the state's government and prohibits judicial deference to state agencies.
The bill will establish a Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office under the governor's office to identify inefficiencies in the agency rulemaking process and create informational materials on efficient governance. A Regulatory Efficiency Advisory Panel will advise the office. The bill also sets regulatory reduction goals for other state agencies. SB14 also prohibited courts from "giving deference to any legal determination by a state agency."
The Texas House of Representatives approved the bill 97-51 on April 9. In the House, 84 Republicans and 13 Democrats voted for the bill, and two Republicans joined 49 Democrats against it. The Texas Senate approved it 26-5 on March 26. In the Senate, 19 Republicans and seven Democrats were in favor, and one Republican joined four Democrats against.
Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R) supported the bill, saying, "Senate Bill 14 is necessary to strengthen the integrity of the rulemaking process, increase transparency and assure regulatory efficiency." Texas Rep. Brian Harrison (R) opposed the bill, saying, "The point of DOGE is to cut government, reduce spending and shrink the bureaucracy. Unfortunately, this bill does the exact opposite. This bill grows government. [...] it expands the executive branch of government when we should be clawing back power from the executive branch to the legislative branch."
SB14 is one of several state-level bills introduced in 2025 modeled on President Donald Trump's (R) federal-level Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Texas is the second state to enact a state-level bill of this kind in 2025, after Kentucky's SR240, which created a Discipline of Government Efficiency Task Force under the Kentucky Legislature. Earlier in 2025, the Republican governors of Iowa, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and Louisiana signed executive orders establishing state-level government efficiency groups. Other states like Montana and Arizona have existing government efficiency initiatives established before 2025.
We're following 52 bills in 23 states and 12 bills in Congress related to government efficiency. Bills have been enacted or passed by at least one legislative chamber in Florida, Kentucky, Idaho, Montana, Mississippi, and Texas.
Kentucky also enacted a bill this year prohibiting or restricting judicial deference to state agencies. In 2024, Idaho, Indiana, and Nebraska enacted similar bills. We're currently following 34 bills related to judicial deference.
To keep up-to-date with the above bills, visit our Administrative State Legislation Tracker.
Sixty-nine years ago today, Alaska voters approved a measure using the Tennessee Plan to pursue statehood
On this date in 1956, Alaska voters approved Proposition 2, the "Tennessee Plan Measure," 61% to 39%. The measure supported electing and sending two senators and one representative to the U.S. Congress, regardless of federal statehood approval.
The Tennessee Plan refers to the strategy of a territory electing senators and representatives to send to Washington, D.C., to lobby for statehood. Tennessee first employed this plan in 1795 to gain membership into the Union. Tennessee was formerly the Southwest Territory and was under the jurisdiction of North Carolina from 1777 to 1788. In 1789, North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution, which transferred jurisdiction over Tennessee to the federal government. The territory then held a referendum, which revealed a 3-1 majority in favor of joining the Union.
Rather than waiting for Congress to begin the statehood process, Tennessee held a constitutional convention and drafted a state constitution. The convention's delegates also elected a governor and a three-member congressional delegation. That delegation went to Philadelphia, which was then the capital of the U.S., to lobby for statehood and claim their seats. Congress passed the Admission Act within several months, and Tennessee became the 16th state on June 1, 1796.
Seven other states before Alaska also used the Tennessee Plan to lobby for statehood: California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Oregon. New Mexico was the only state where the Tennessee Plan failed to help gain statehood. New Mexico eventually became a state in 1912. Alaska was the last state to successfully use the Tennessee Plan to gain statehood. Attempts to use the plan for Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are ongoing.
Our coverage of this measure is part of our Historic Ballot Measures project (HBM), which will document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the U.S. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and the voting public on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they've covered, and the role they have played in our civic life.
Click here for more information on Alaska Proposition 2.
