The Republican-led Texas Senate passed one of Gov. Greg Abbott's top legislative priorities Wednesday: school choice. The vote came along party lines, 20-11. It came after hours of debate that began after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Lawmakers approved a number of amendments to Senate Bill 2.

Moving swiftly on a central Republican priority, the Texas Senate approved a “school choice” bill Wednesday that would put taxpayer dollars toward private school education. The 19-12 vote was largely along partisan lines with Sen.

Once passed in the Senate, the school choice bill will head to the House. Governor Abbott said he remains very confident that school choice will pass in the chamber, even though Democrats promise a fight.

Gov. Greg Abbott declared the measure an “emergency item” in his State of the State address, expediting its path through the legislative process.

After seven hours of debate over SB 2 on the Senate floor Wednesday, the chamber suspended rules so that they could expedite the process and send it to the Texas House for consideration.