#ICYMI: If the voucher bill were to pass, select private companies could soon be reeling in tens and even hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars per year. We took a closer look at who stands to gain the most.
https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

“Now what we’re seeing is a full-on assault on our state’s immunization program. Activists felt like they could take advantage of the [COVID-19 pandemic] and exploit it and start going after laws that have been on the books for decades.” https://www.texasobserver.org/measles-outbreak-anti-vax-legislation/

“It’s more government, more bureaucracy, more money, and there’s no oversight. And it’s taxation without representation,. The taxpayers don’t get to pick who these private companies are that our tax dollars are going into. So that is not a free market.” https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

Our top story: If the voucher bill were to pass, select private companies could soon be reeling in tens and even hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars per year. We took a closer look at who stands to gain the most. https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

Previously: The committee, made up of seven Republicans and four Democrats, unanimously passed an amended version of the bill on Thursday, setting it up for a vote on the Senate floor. https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-bitcoin-strategic-reserve-senate-bill-21/

Recently, a bloc of self-proclaimed conservative reformers invoked the Sharpstown debacle in their crusade to take down the speaker of the house and root out an alleged cabal of corrupted “RINOs” who they claim have conspired with lobbyists and #Democrats to control the chamber. https://www.texasobserver.org/ethics-reform-texas-house-legislature/

As Greg Abbott aims to force vouchers through the Texas Legislature during the 89th session, private companies like 'ClassWallet' have descended on the capitol, after the lucrative contracts which could result if they're support of the governor's policies pays off. https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

“If you get $10,000, you’re still $17,000 short. And for most of these families that are poor families, that creates, you know, a mirage that they can now access it.” https://www.texasobserver.org/house-hearing-2025-school-vouchers/

Our top story: ”It’s taxation without representation. The taxpayers don’t get to pick who these private companies are that our tax dollars are going into. So that is not a free market.” https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

“Given what a support our church has been throughout Ruby’s life, it’s absolutely infuriating to see Republicans in my own state twist our faith to argue that my child does not deserve rights. Christian lawmakers in #Texas, members of my own religion, claim that #trans people are sinful, bad, and broken, but that is anything but the truth.” https://www.texasobserver.org/trans-children-gods-gifts/

#LGBTQIA+ #transphobia #HumanRights #politics #USpol #news #TXlege

“What matters is who actually gets the funds; who actually gets admitted; or who’s already been admitted.”

New from @josephinelee: A House committee heard over 23 hours of testimony from those concerned about the future of public education if #vouchers become law. Objections came from both sides of the aisle. https://www.texasobserver.org/house-hearing-2025-school-vouchers/

“The goal is to cast vaccines into the shadows. That has deadly consequences.”

Legislators are bent on dismantling our vaccine safety net even as this deadly disease sees a frightening resurgence in our state. https://www.texasobserver.org/measles-outbreak-anti-vax-legislation/

Our top story: “One thing that is abundantly clear is that #border enforcement, and in particular the construction of detention facilities ... is big business. It’s a huge business. It’s incredibly lucrative for a very small number of people who have every incentive to make this system as big and as bloated as possible.” https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-operation-lone-star-contractors-bonanza/

Previously: Politicians, especially those who grew up in the digital age, have repeatedly learned the hard lesson that you can never truly delete anything from the web.

Take, for instance, Nate Schatzline. https://www.texasobserver.org/nate-schatzline-drag-lege-2025/

Featured story: “How are they able to get away with not giving them [all] PE? … I saw the way they do it is by falsification of documentation.” https://www.texasobserver.org/mike-miles-third-future-schools-midland-classes/

“We’ve had the sad circumstance of a young school-age child [dying] of measles. Yet we see these lawmakers doubling and tripling down, filing these bills and advocating for these policies that will harm #Texas children in the long run.” https://www.texasobserver.org/measles-outbreak-anti-vax-legislation/

The Texas House of Representatives has begun debating vouchers today.

Our coverage of the problematic private contractors who would earn big bucks if vouchers become the law:
https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

“It’s more government, more bureaucracy, more money, and there’s no oversight. And it’s taxation without representation.”

New today from @josephinelee and Justin Miller: The Legislature’s current proposals put a handful of private contractors in the driver’s seat. Other states have already seen problems.
https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

Our top story: The governor's state of disaster has been continuously renewed for four years. In this time, the #Texas Legislature has allocated more than $11 billion to fund the sprawling tentacles of Operation Lone Star.
https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-operation-lone-star-contractors-bonanza/

Featured story, from Molly Ivins: ”Three strikes and you’re out? Watch Texas spend more on prisons than it does on schools. Thinking of making your tax structure more regressive? Come to the Lone Star State and see how it’s done.” https://www.texasobserver.org/molly-ivins-school-vouchers-1997/