Texas on Wednesday finally passed a comprehensive school choice bill after years of trying and failing.
The legislation could reshape the way the Lone Star State performs education.
The state House vote followed a long day of deliberations that lasted well after midnight before passing. Now, the measure will go to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature.
Abbott said:
This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children.
For the first time in Texas history, our state has passed a universal school choice bill.
This is an extraordinary victory! pic.twitter.com/G3lzMEz3IZ
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 17, 2025
The measure will establish accounts parents can use to pay for educational expenses.
The ESA proposal would establish dedicated accounts fueled by public funds that families could tap into to pay for education expenses. An ESA could fund private school tuition, support homeschooling costs or be used for other education-related expenses.
Families in private schools would receive roughly $10,000 per year per child. Children with disabilities would receive $11,500. Homeschooled students could receive $2,000, and homeschooled students with disabilities would be eligible for $2,500.
Republican state budget writers want to spend $1 billion of the state’s nearly $24 billion surplus to fund the program. But a legislative advisory board projected that an ESA program’s annual cost could balloon to nearly $4 billion by 2030.
The bill, as in previous years, garnered opposition from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. State Rep. Ron Reynolds (C/G) called the bill “unpatriotic” and “un-American.”
Republican Reps. Dade Phelan and Gary VanDeaver voted against the bill. They are both former public school superintendents who have a history of opposing school choice.
Texas school choice advocate Ross Schumann told Townhall:
[S]chool choice is a vital lifeline for Texas students to ensure they can find a school that fits their learning needs [and] school choice will at least get us closer to a free market approach and empower parents and students to make decisions based on the best options to fill their individual needs.
Further:
There are great public schools in our state, and there are bad public schools. But, even a great school may not be great for all students and even a terrible school may not be terrible for all students. Parents should not be stuck in a government run school with no alternative options simply because they cannot afford to move their family at a whim into a school district that fits their need, or be able to afford full cost of tuition at a private school that would do so.
After the school choice bill failed to pass in Texas’ last legislative session, Gov. Abbott targeted Republican lawmakers who voted against it for primary challenges. He threw his support behind primary challengers who favored educational freedom.
In the lead-up to the vote, Leftists tried to scuttle the bill and pushed to put the proposed legislation on a ballot initiative for Texans to vote on in November.
Rep. James Talarico (C/G), argued:
There are a lot more people in this state than Republican primary voters. The taxpayers should have a say.
Protesters in the Capitol building advocated against the measure, chanting “No vouchers!”
Counter protesters also showed up to express their support of the bill. They wore shirts that read, “Parents matter.”
President Trump in a post on Truth Social, congratulated Texas Republicans for getting the bill passed:
Congratulations to my friends, Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dustin Burrows, along with Texas Legislators, for finally passing SCHOOL CHOICE, which I strongly endorsed – this is a gigantic Victory for students and parents in the Great State of Texas! We will very soon be sending Education BACK TO ALL THE STATES, where it belongs. It is our goal to bring Education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Trump has been an avid advocate for school choice and is expected to champion legislation at the federal level to give parents more options for educating their children.
Final thought: Texas may be setting the standard for the remainder of the U.S.
