- Today on Austin InSight, School Vouchers, also known as School Choice, will this proposed policy become law?

We'll talk to the Texas House Education Committee Chairman.

- Plus another South by Southwest is in the books.

We're going to recap some of the most interesting sights and sounds.

Austin InSight starts right now.

- [Narrator] Support for Austin Insight comes from Sally and James Gavin, and also from Suerte, Este and Bar Toti restaurants, bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in central Texas.

(lively music) (lively music) - Hi, and thank you so much for watching.

I'm Danielle Banda.

- And I'm Laura Laughead.

- Well, if it passes, it will be the nation's largest school voucher program.

Separate but similar bills to implement a billion dollar school vouchers program are making their way through the Texas legislature.

The Senate version was approved on February the fifth.

The house bill is under consideration.

Hundreds of people registered to speak at a marathon 22 and a half hour public hearing last week.

- We have a record surplus in our state budget, and you have a real opportunity to do right by our public school educators and students.

ESAs are not right for Texas, and we are counting on you to keep public dollars in public schools.

- I urge this committee to vote for school choice.

Let us, the parents, alongside our children have the best chance at success.

Allow the parents the freedom to choose and support our children's educational path.

- The debate over giving tax dollars to families to pay for private school tuition is contentious with both sides rallying in recent weeks, governor Abbott expressing confidence that he has the votes for passage.

Meanwhile, state representative Cody Harris from Tyler abruptly ended a raucous town hall in Palestine a few weeks ago.

- During the town hall meeting, state representatives Cody Harris and Brad Buckley shared a presentation to a crowded audience, many holding signs and voicing their opinions during the presentation.

But an hour into the meeting as people continued voicing their opinions.

- Thank you for your time, go home and good evening.

(crowd boos) - Cody Harris shut down the rest of the meeting.

- We will pass school choice in the State of Texas.

- So this is definitely a hot topic, more now in this overview of the school vouchers issue from Decibel multimedia reporter, Blair Waltman-Alexin.

- Save Texas schools, save Texas schools.

- [Blair Waltman-Alexin] Last month, families and staff from Rundberg joined with many others from across the state to protest school vouchers.

There's been a lot of discussion around these both for and against them.

- It's not fair for parents they can afford taking their kids to private schools.

- But what are school vouchers and what will they look like in Texas?

School vouchers are government funded vouchers that cover educational costs.

You might have heard it called School Choice by people who support it.

In Texas, lawmakers have proposed vouchers in the form of educational savings accounts or ESAs.

ESAs are state funded bank accounts filled with public funds.

Parents who remove their kids from public schools can use money from these accounts to cover educational costs like tuition, online schooling, or private tutoring.

Lawmakers want to set aside $1 billion to start ESAs allocating about $10,000 per student.

That means that there is enough money for up to a hundred thousand students.

So who's eligible for this money?

Anyone zoned to a K-12 Texas School, including students already in private school.

If more people apply, then there are spaces priority will be given to students with disabilities and to families earning about five times the federal poverty level.

So why do lawmakers want school vouchers?

Proponents argue that it gives middle and lower income families more schooling options, helps homeschoolers and makes public schools more competitive.

But opponents save vouchers take money away from public education and that 10 grand isn't enough to cover private tuition if you can even find a private school in your area.

The average private school tuition in Texas is just over $11,000.

It's a little higher in Travis County.

The average tuition is over $16,000 and fees will run you an additional $1,800.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that most private schools in Texas are concentrated around major cities.

In most rural areas, there are no private schools.

92 counties have less than five private schools.

This is why lots of rural lawmakers opposed vouchers in the past.

Even in cities like Austin, private schools might not be accessible or affordable.

In Travis County, there are 81 private schools, hardly any are in Austin's Eastern Crescent.

But if there's a school that you can get into that's close by, do vouchers work?

Are these schools better?

It's a little tricky to say.

U.S. News ranks Texas as 28th in pre-K-12 education.

But while public schools have to share state test scores, private schools don't have to share that data.

(students chatter) Opponents point out that there's actually a lot of stuff private schools don't have to do.

Anyone can apply to a private school, but they don't have to accept you.

Because public schools get federal funding, they have to follow federal laws and provide an equal education to students of any religion, ethnicity, or level of disability.

But since private schools don't receive federal dollars, they don't have to follow these rules.

The Texas Private School Association says that 75% of private schools do serve students with disabilities.

- Save Texas schools, save Texas schools.

- But since 25% do not, some disability rights advocates say that it is still discrimination.

Now, Texas isn't the only state that's interested in school vouchers.

Arizona actually started a school voucher program in 2022.

So how's that been working out for them?

Arizona uses empowerment savings accounts.

The goal was that lower income families could also afford a private education.

But according to a ProPublica analysis, poor neighborhoods in Maricopa County used fewer vouchers.

Their wealthier neighbors actually used more.

Vouchers are also impacting Arizona's budget.

The cost of vouchers in 2024 was supposed to be $64.5 million, but it has since skyrocketed to $332 million.

That's a 400% increase.

Arizona has to make up for these losses by cutting other state programs and projects.

Now, Texas does have money.

The state is currently sitting on a $24 billion budget surplus.

But voucher opponents say that money should be used to fund public schools, which they say are underfunded.

They're also concerned that vouchers will make that worse.

So why are we hearing so much about school vouchers all of a sudden?

- They make it sound like you can't have both school choice and robust public schools.

That's completely false.

The reality is we-- - Governor Greg Abbott has been pushing for school vouchers for years.

In the past, he lacked enough support because lots of rural lawmakers oppose school vouchers.

Abbott successfully campaigned against these politicians ousting 12 voucher opponents in the March, 2024 Republican primary election.

He called it a tidal wave of support for school vouchers.

One survey by the University of Texas Public Policy Project found that 52% of respondents supported starting a voucher program.

And that brings us to the current legislative session where there's support in both the House and the Senate for school voucher bills.

So what's next?

With support in both chambers, School vouchers are highly likely to pass this year.

If signed, the new law would go into effect in September, but we'll have to wait and see who will end up using those funds and how they'll impact public schools.

- We'll turn now to the policy makers for perspectives for and against school vouchers.

Joining us is representative Brad Buckley from Salado.

He chairs the House Public Education Committee and is a supporter of school vouchers.

Representative, thanks so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- So you're familiar with the key criticisms of vouchers of course.

Why should taxpayers help fund private school tuition to the tune of a billion dollars when as education advocates claim, public schools are underfunded and teachers are underpaid in Texas?

- Yeah, well, you know, that's why the Texas House is proposing the Texas two step, and that is a House Bill 2 and House Bill 3 combined that will reform and invest in education for all kids in Texas.

House Bill 2 is the largest investment in our public schools in the history of our state.

Even when you adjust for inflation, it will provide teacher pay raises, provide more funding for special education.

It will make certain that our districts have the investments that they need to balance their budgets and to continue to do the great job that our public schools do.

House Bill 3 recognizes that sometimes parents need an option, and sometimes their kids' education, their educational needs are not being met.

And our parents deserve the option to put them in the setting that meets their needs.

And so that's why these two bills together, I believe are are really important if we're going to really move the needle on educating our kids in Texas.

- But in other states, a lot of voucher funds have gone to parents who already had their kids enrolled in private schools.

And so clearly they could already afford a private school education.

Will the house bill prevent well off families from getting vouchers and how so?

- Yeah, our, our bill is prioritized for special education students that are under a certain income and then regular ed kids that earn, that families have, you know, an income below a certain level of federal poverty standards and works its way up.

And what you'll find is that you'll find there are parents that have kids in private school now that are sacrificing significantly to keep their kids there.

In my own district, in the community of Killeen, there's a private school that serves children with disabilities and what you'll find is that more than 50% of the parents in that school earn less than $80,000 a year.

And so we know now that parents are sacrificing to make sure their kids are in the appropriate setting.

And so this bill recognizes that, it seeks to help help those families continue to provide the education they feel is best for their kids.

- Just to reiterate, what would you say overall would be the biggest benefits of the school voucher policy for the state of Texas and families here?

- I think it's about putting kids in an environment where they can thrive.

You know, nobody knows better what their kids need than parents.

And so, like my wife and I, we chose a public school setting for our three kids.

We did transfer from one district to another because we felt like that matched our kids' needs better than where we lived and this, but this bill will simply give parents an option if they feel that they need it.

And I think that's never been more important for us to provide those options for parents.

Another tool in the toolbox, if you will, to make sure their kids get the best education possible.

- Well, gotcha, thank you for elaborating on all those points.

Representative Buckley, you've answered our questions.

Thank you so much for taking this time for this interview.

- Thank you very much for having me.

- For the opposing view on school vouchers, we are joined now by state representative James Talarico from Round Rock.

He is a former teacher and a vocal opponent of school vouchers.

Videos of his sharp criticism have lit up social media in recent weeks.

Representative Talarico, thank you so much for being here.

- Thanks for having me.

- So you've called it Welfare for the Wealthy.

What do you mean by that?

- Well, in every state that's tried voucher scams, you see that the vast majority of the money ends up going to wealthier parents who already have their kids in private school.

And that's because it's hard to get into private schools.

Private schools can deny admission to any student for any reason they want, they're exclusive.

That's the whole reason that they're private.

And so when bills like this one that's moving through the legislature allow for parents who are already sending their kids to private school to draw from the funds, then those are the families that are most going to benefit.

And so that's why I call vouchers Welfare for the Wealthy.

- But some might say to that, shouldn't parents who live where the public schools are not as high quality maybe have a choice?

Would more competition help as voucher supporters claim?

How might you address that?

- Well, I'm all for competition as long as it's fair.

But private schools don't have to accept the same students, don't have to follow the same rules, don't have to take the same test.

It's like a football game.

But one team has 12 guys on the field and unlimited timeouts.

It's not a fair fight.

But we do have school choice in Texas.

We have neighborhood schools, but we also have public charter schools, magnet schools, academies, early college high schools, P-Techs, career and technical schools.

We do have options for parents in the state.

There's also already a program that allows a parent whose child is in a school that's struggling academically to transfer that child to a different public school.

So we already have school choice where transparency and accountability are built in.

But private school vouchers don't offer school choice.

It's not school choice, it's the school's choice because private schools can deny any student for any reason they want.

- And that being said, voucher opponents say that the people of Texas are on their side of this argument, but the same people just elected a very conservative legislature that seems likely to pass this voucher policy.

Why do you think that is?

- Well, the most recent polling shows that two thirds of Texans reject private school voucher scams.

And this is consistent with polling last year that showed 57% of Texans in both political parties reject vouchers.

And so what you see are Democrats and Republicans across the state rejecting this policy.

That's why you've seen Republicans and Democrats in the legislature reject this policy.

The reason it's not law already is because Democrats and Republicans alike are standing up to the governor on this issue in the Texas House.

I hope that continues in this legislative session.

- And any bipartisan support these days is very, very unique, I would say.

And what's your biggest concern you would say about vouchers?

What do you see as the potential greatest harm from this policy?

- I know that vouchers will defund our already underfunded public schools.

You know, we rank 44th in the nation in per student education funding.

Texas teachers are making less than they did 10 years ago when you adjust for inflation, and local property taxes are through the roof because our state government has failed to do its fair share of school funding, leaving the entire burden to be held by our local taxpayers and vouchers will make all of that worse.

It'll drain much needed tax dollars away from our public schools into these unaccountable private schools.

It'll lead to even lower teacher pay and it will lead to even higher property taxes.

So this is the worst possible choice for our state to make and that's why Democrats and Republicans alike are rejecting private school vouchers.

- Well this is something we will certainly be watching as the house moves forward.

Representative Talarico, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective, especially as a former teacher yourself.

- Thank you for having me.

- Now for an update on the legislative process, Texas Tribune education reporter Jaden Edison joins us.

He's closely following these bills under the Capitol Dome.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- Appreciate you having me.

- Absolutely.

Well first to catch us up on next steps, the Senate bill passed several weeks ago.

What do you see as the path forward for the House bill following that very long public hearing?

- Right, so I think all eyes are on the house right now, right?

As you mentioned the Senate moved swift when it came to their proposal, I think it took them roughly, I think I calculated 22 days to pass their proposal, right?

But the house, they did just get through somewhat of a significant step in the marathon public hearing that you were referencing, which went from, you know, early morning Tuesday to early morning Wednesday with hundreds of people who showed up at the Capitol or at the Capitol Complex rather to testify on the proposal.

So the next step really is to vote a potential vote on that bill the house bill in particular out of the house Public Education Committee.

And if that is to happen, which you know, folks would expect to happen probably in the next week or or two weeks, you know, it is kind of fluid right now.

But once that does happen, anticipating that, you know, they do have the votes to get it through that is fully the expectation, it would then advance to the full legislature and then the next steps could then proceed.

So there are still some things that kind of have to be worked out.

Again, we're talking about two different bills in the two different chambers.

And so how they kind of, you know, get together at some point and figure out how to iron out some of the differences will be key to watch.

- And what are the key differences between the house and the Senate versions of the voucher bills and what do you expect will be the major sticking points for the eventual conference committee?

- But they seem to be starting off at a better point than they did in 2023 when things ended, right?

Which is if you talk to lawmakers, right, they view that as the positive sign.

And I think the differences are, are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, right?

We talk about the differences kind of in how they would calculate how much funding, for example, each student would receive per year and which students will receive top priority in the event that demand exceeds funding.

And then also there are some differences, which I think will be an interesting kind of to monitor how they work around is how they accommodate students with disabilities, right?

The house kind of has what I would consider kind of more expansive provisions in the bill to try to accommodate, you know, as many students with disabilities as possible, while also increase funding for those students as well.

So we'll see how those things kind of play out and if those things actually end up being points of conflict.

But what it sounds like right now is that, at least when you talk to lawmakers is that they feel like they're in a better spot than where they were two years ago.

- Absolutely, and speaking of lawmakers, the governor held up additional school funding after voucher legislation previously failed to pass.

So assuming a voucher bill does win approval, will we see more funding for public schools?

Many districts have struggled financially in recent years and also some are wondering if there might be teacher pay increases?

- Yeah, so it's really interesting right now, you know, those things were tied together, which kind of kept things from passing in 2023 or you know, which honestly created or at least played a huge part in the, in exactly what you're referencing with, you know, we're seeing, you know, these budget deficits, school closures, teacher shortages, I mean increased classroom sizes, right?

So what they're, the approach they're taking this year is they are separate right now.

We'll see if that kind of remains the case depending on kind of the trajectory of the school voucher proposals.

I think the thing that districts care most about, right, is what's known as the basic allotment, the base amount of money that, you know, every school receives per student.

The Senate is not proposing an increase to that number while the house is proposing what many will consider a modest increase.

And so there is, you know, perhaps you know, money on the table, but perhaps not in the way in a flexible manner, right?

That maybe districts and school district leaders and public education advocates would like to see.

- Very interesting, well, Jaden, many thanks for joining us.

We will definitely invite you back as we continue to follow these updates and as things continue to progress.

- Yep, thanks so much, appreciate you.

- Meanwhile, celebrity sightings, scintillating panels and activations like a crashed spaceship and a box where you could scream and measure your decibel levels.

Who doesn't feel like screaming these days?

We're of course talking about South by Southwest.

Last year it attracted over half a million people and this year felt even bigger.

We spent some time at South by the last two weeks and have a roundup of some highlights.

(upbeat music) From movies, (artist singing) music, Matthew McConaughey and more.

So maybe I should, oh.

South by Southwest 2025 made a Texas-sized name for itself.

Just ask this husband and wife visiting from England.

- Probably about 20 years I've been following South by Southwest and always wanted to go.

- [Narrator] Disclaimer, this recap is just a few highlights from South by it would be impossible to list all your favorites in a five minute TVD segment.

- The 25th Texas Film Awards honored action star Michelle Rodriguez, Alamo Drafthouse founders Tim and Karrie League and writer director Noah Hawley.

Hawley, an Austin Transplant, is the creator of the new FX show Alien: Earth.

- How fast are you guys?

- And fans got a sneak peek at this activation.

We got a crash course and a crash landing.

- We can't let this containment breach.

- I'm stressed!

And an up close encounter with an alien.

- It might be a little bit scary.

That's all I can tell you.

- Speaking of out of this world, here's superstar Nicole Kidman at the premier of Holland, directed by Mimi Cave.

The film is part of Kidman's mission to work with a female director every 18 months.

- I'm in the position to be able to share what I do and to be able to get things made for women passion projects or things or give them chances that they would not necessarily get.

- And now we're on the red carpet talking with the singer songwriter H.E.R.

who's making her directorial debut this South by with a new documentary, "The Makings of Curtis Mayfield."

- I'm grateful to even have someone's legacy kind of in my hands, you know.

- Across from the Paramount, these fans waited in line.

- I think six-ish hours.

- For the Criterion Closet of classic films.

I even got to do my own closet picks video on Texas filmmakers.

You can't be doing a story on the Criterion Closet in Austin and not get Dazed and Confused.

And what's more Texan than Whataburger?

I spill a little mustard on my outfit.

You won't even know.

Here's a look inside the Whataburger Museum of Fan Art.

- I like to think of myself as one of the biggest super fans for Whataburger.

Everything revolves around Whataburger for me and my family.

(Artists sing) - And it wouldn't be South by without the music.

Featuring artists from around the world like Yndling from Norway.

- Me and my boys, my, the band over there are all waiting for a barbecue.

(drummer plays) - And local artists like Chief Cleopatra performing at Austin PBS's very own Bloody Mary Morning.

- South by is very important to local artists and what it does for them and their careers.

- Over on the tech side, women's healthcare was a major topic bringing in figures like Sarah O'Leary, CEO of Willow Innovations that revolutionized breast pump technology.

- It literally is like adding so much time back into a woman's life.

And I also feel like it's adding dignity.

- Plus a trip through time at the immersive experience from Dubai's Museum of the Future.

- It was really important for us to bring a taste of the soul and the spirit of Dubai to the people of Austin.

- With some viral sweet treats for visitors.

But I hate to say it, this is worth the TikTok hype.

But it was the Texas film scene that took the starring role outside the Capitol.

- I'm David Blue Garcia, the director of Bulgarian Chainsaw Massacre.

That's actually a typo.

It should be Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

But the problem is, without proper Texas film incentives, we had to shoot my movie in Bulgaria in Eastern Europe instead of here in Texas.

- That's exactly why Media for Texas hosted the Texas Film Experience.

- Our ultimate goal is to do our part in what we can to help increase and enhance our film incentives to bring our production back home, as well as create awareness about what the film industry in Texas is all about.

- Visitors could see everything from a live set to costumes to this robotic camera.

Coming in hot.

Texas Directors Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez are also on board.

- You unfortunately, our neighbors New Mexico and Louisiana have pretty aggressive programs.

If we can come up to even near them, we'll do well.

- Whenever I have actors come here, they go, I'd much rather be coming here than Atlanta or New Orleans or Canada or Bulgaria.

- Austin actors, Jared and Genevieve Padalecki agree.

- We have so many people come in and from California or New York or Atlanta or whatever and be like, y'all are all so nice here.

- I know I'm-- - Yeah.

- And a bonus at this year's South by Southwest, the premier of the Minister of Culture himself, first movie in six years.

Here's Matthew McConaughey at the premier of his new movie, "The Rivals of Amziah King."

But this one was shot in Alabama.

- On just a selfish level, I want to shoot in the backyard.

I've enjoyed shooting here.

We have a great talent here, why not?

- But as PBS we did have to ask him one final question.

PBS pick one real fast, Big Bird or Elmo?

- Incredible Hulk.

- Got it.

- For the record, the Incredible Hulk is not an official PBS character, but maybe in another universe, a distant cousin of Oscar the Grouch.

But the South by was so much fun.

We got to be out there and even meet some of y'all out there.

It's kind of like a highlight of living in Austin for me.

- Absolutely, my favorite part was watching the smiling faces of Austinites and visitors, just how thrilled they were for the festivities this year.

- Yeah, our city really like showed up and showed out.

- Put on a good show for them.

- Absolutely.

And we want to thank you again so much for joining us today, and we'll be back next Thursday evening at seven.

- And don't forget, you can always watch Austin Insight in your PBS app.

We'll see you next time.

(bright music) (bright music) - [Narrator] Support for Austin InSight comes from Sally and James Gavin and also from Suerte, Este and Bar Toti restaurants, bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in central Texas.

(bright whistle)