Texas Lawmakers Consider Allowing More Charter Schools

Give families more choices than their districts offer now

Top education leaders in the Texas House began discussing a major proposal late Tuesday to increase the number of charter schools allowed to operate statewide. The plan sailed through the Senate but may face a tougher road in the lower chamber.

Supporters and opponents waited hours to address the House Public Education Committee on Senate Bill 5, which would raise the cap on the number of public charter school licenses that Texas issues from 215 to 305 over the next six years. If approved, the plan could be the most dramatic expansion of charters since they were first authorized in 1995.

Peggy Venable of the conservative Americans for Prosperity, which supports limited government, said the expansion was needed to allow more choice for parents.

"A kid's future really rides on a five-digit zip code right now," she told the committee.