Michael Karlis is a Staff Writer at the San Antonio Current. He is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., whose work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Orlando Weekly, NewsBreak, 420 Magazine and Mexico Travel Today. He reports primarily on breaking news, politics...

If the author and all co-authors vote for House Bill 3, it would pass the lower chamber. The controversial program, also called school choice, would use public money to pay for children’s private school tuition.

The $1 billion first year cost could grow to more than $8 billion over the two-year period up in 2029 as more and more students try to sign up.