Bill to give parents tax money for private school tuition passes Senate, giving Jeff Landry a big win

A bill to give parents tax dollars to pay for private school passed the Louisiana Senate on Thursday, handing Gov. Jeff Landry a major victory and thwarting critics — including some Republicans — who balked at the plan’s possibly massive cost and its potential to destabilize the state’s public schools.

Senate Bill 313 passed 24-15 largely along party lines just before 7 p.m., but with four Republicans joining Democrats in opposing it. The heavily amended bill now heads to the House, where a similar measure easily passed last month.

The bill’s passage follows a last-minute push by Landry, who pressured reluctant senators to get behind his signature education proposal through television ads, town hall meetings and private conversations on the Senate floor Thursday. He was backed by influential conservative groups and GOP donors who have long sought to offer students an alternative to the public school system.

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