May 5, 2025
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation establishing a private school voucher program into law.
On May 3, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation establishing a private school voucher program into law, legislation that Abbott ensured would pass by making sure most Texas Republicans who would have voted against the bill were replaced by loyalists. Although the bill will go into effect in late 2026, ahead of that, the Texas Comptroller is tasked with creating the Education Savings Account program.
According to The Texas Tribune, Senate Bill 2 allows families to use public taxpayer dollars to fund their child’s education at an accredited private school or to pay for other school-related expenses such as textbooks, transportation, or therapy. The fund’s $1 billion earmark establishes it as one of the largest pieces of school choice legislation in the country.
The issue has been the source of contention in the Lone Star State for years, and even though it is set to become law, Texas Democrats and rural Republicans who fought against it say that it could eventually harm the public school systems, which the State of Texas already underfunds, and many of Texas’ low-income residents who can’t afford private school, even with the support of a voucher.
Voucher programs in other states have already been exposed as beneficial to wealthy families who could already afford private schooling, at the expense of students of color, special needs students, and low-income students, as well as leading to disappointing academic scores for students.
Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) warned ahead of a news conference with other opponents of Abbott’s Voucher program, “Remember this day next time a school closes in your neighborhood,” Rep.Talarico said. “Remember this day next time a beloved teacher quits because they can’t support their family on their salary. Remember this day next time your local property taxes rise because the state government is not doing its fair share of school funding. And if recession comes and we are forced to make even deeper cuts to public education, remember this day.”
Texas Rep. Gene Wu, (D-Houston) the Democratic Caucus Chair, was critical of the program’s uncapped four-tier system, remarking at an earlier debate over the bill at the Texas Capitol, “Billionaires can use it, and there’s just no explanation of why. If the point is about lifting poor people up, then just make it about poor people.”
As ABC-13 reports, although the bill purports to prioritize low-income students and remain open to all income levels, these aims created doubt for education policy experts and public education experts about the ability of the state to assist the Texas children who need the most assistance.
Josh Cowen, an education policy professor at Michigan State University, and a critic of voucher programs in general, told the outlet that there’s no way to deliver a win for Abbott and help lower- and middle-income families simultaneously.
“(Lawmakers) are in a tough spot, the ones that really want to do this for real, for kids. What they’re trying to do is craft a universal voucher bill to give a win to the governor and at the same time adhere to a message, and maybe even a policy, that’s intended to help lower-income and middle-income families. And those two are conflicting goals,” Cowen said.
In April, State Rep. Jolanda Jones (D-Houston) argued during an emergency town hall in Houston’s historically Black Third Ward community that the voucher program amounted to a two-tiered education system that only benefited Texans who could already afford private schools.
“Public dollars should not be spent in private places and spaces,” Jones said at the meeting. “We do not want vouchers because it’s not a good education for all, it’s just great education for some. Most private schools are upwards of $30,000, and $10,000 all that does is its welfare, a subsidiary for rich people.”
RELATED CONTENT: School Choice Executive Order Penalizes Public School For Teaching American History
