The Texas Education Freedom Act, aka Senate Bill 2, establishes an Education Savings Account (ESA) program allowing eligible students to direct funding toward their choice of preapproved educational providers and services such as private school tuition, instructional materials, and educational therapies.
With $1 billion in funding for the 2026-2027 school year, the governor's office boasts that the program will be the largest day-one launch in the country.
"When I ran for re-election in 2022, I promised Texans that we will bring education freedom to every Texas family," said Abbott (right) at the bill signing. "Today, Texas delivers on that promise. I am signing this law that will ensure Texas families, whose children can no longer be served by the public school assigned to them, have the choice to take their money and find the school that is right for them."
Twenty-four states plus Washington, D.C., have school choice voucher programs, according to EdChoice.org.
The Texas Senate had passed a school choice bill six times in 10 years. As it finally cleared the hurdle, Abbot’s Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick, a longtime advocate of choice in education, called the bill “one of the hallmark policy victories” of his career.
Corey DeAngelis is a Texas-based advocate for school choice. He told AFN that this is a huge win.
"That billion dollars will provide scholarships for about 100,000 students in the initial year, and we plan to expand it once we can show demand for the school choice initiative."
This makes Texas the 16th state to pass a universal school choice policy in the past four years.
