The Texas House gave final approval Thursday to an early education bill backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, sending it to the upper chamber on a vote of 128 to 17.
House Bill 4 would reward school districts with roughly $130 million in extra funding if they implement certain improvements to their pre-kindergarten programs. The legislation — authored by Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Humble — is a priority of Abbott's, who named early education an emergency item upon taking office in January.
The House passed the bill Wednesday after unsuccessful attempts by Tea Party-backed legislators to derail it. They questioned whether it would lead to an expansion of pre-K in Texas, an idea Huberty attributed to "misinformation."
On Thursday, two members were present but did not vote on House Bill 4.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/09/texas-house-gives-final-approval-pre-k-bill/.