The Senate could vote on the proposal as soon as next week. Democrats on Tuesday criticized the bill saying it fails to prioritize the state’s neediest children.

The proposal, a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott, budgets $1 billion over the next two years to fund the private school vouchers.

The school voucher debate officially started today in the Texas Senate. The new proposal would set aside a billion dollars for so-called “education savings accounts,” essentially an incentive to pull kids from public school and put them in private school.