Alva Review-Courier -

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas' leading "school choice" proponent, got the House floor vote on vouchers he demanded — but not his desired result.

During last week's marathon state budget debate, the House voted 103-44 to prohibit using taxpayer funding for private schools, expressly forbidding vouchers.

That should doom a Senate bill approved days earlier that creates education savings accounts allowing parents to remove children from struggling public schools and send them to private alternatives, and sanctions tax breaks for businesses offering donations to help youngsters...