Private school vouchers head to Abbott’s desk to become law

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The Texas Senate voted on Thursday to send legislation creating a statewide private school voucher program to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law, all but concluding an ugly intraparty battle that has dominated state politics for much of the last two years.

Abbott has already said that he plans to sign Senate Bill 2, a $1 billion proposal allowing families to use taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private school education. Similar legislation has historically run into opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans. But that changed last week, when the Texas House gave its stamp of approval to SB 2, a vote that included support from Republicans who opposed similar legislation in 2023.

Upon Abbott’s signature, the program will officially launch at the start of the 2026-27 school year.

SB 2 would initially put $1 billion over a two-year period in taxpayer dollars toward education savings accounts that families could use for private school tuition and other school-related expenses, like textbooks, transportation and therapy. Notably, up to 20% of the program could go to wealthier families who earn 500% or more of the poverty rate, which would be about $160,000 or more for a family of four.

“Passing this bill sends a message to all of Texas; it tells the next generation of Texas leaders: Your path should fit your purpose, your path should fit what's best for you and your family, and your ambition will always be greater than any system or any institution,” Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Conroe Republican education committee chair who sponsored the legislation, said during closing remarks Thursday.

Senate Democrats made a final rallying cry before the bill’s approval, raising concerns about the bill’s exclusion of undocumented Texans, while questioning whether a voucher program strips public schools of funding and resources to the benefit of children already enrolled in private schools.

Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, at one point proclaimed that “Democrats did not vote for this,” while also criticizing the GOP-dominated Legislature for not allowing voters to decide whether the state should have a voucher program. Last week, the House rejected an amendment that would have placed vouchers on a statewide ballot in November.

“This is my message to the public of Texas: A Republican Legislature is passing this policy, and it is statewide Republican leadership that wore you down,” Cook said.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who controls the Senate, dismissed Cook’s remarks and said the first-year legislator “crossed the line” by making such a political statement.

“We’ll forgive you — you’re a freshman,” Patrick said. “And we do fully fund public education, and many people in your district support school choice.”

Patrick’s response to Cook fell in line with the message echoed by Senate Republicans on Thursday — that parents should have the right to choose the form of schooling best suited for their child and that the state will continue investing in public education. Both the House and Senate are considering a multibillion-dollar public school funding package that includes additional money for, among other things, teacher salaries and special education.

Texas ranks 38th among states in per-student funding, according to a 2024 report from the National Center for Education Statistics. A Texas Tribune analysis found that the state’s share of the funds that schools receive for each child significantly decreased in the last decade until more recently.

Schools also missed out on $7.6 billion last legislative session, which Abbott held hostage when vouchers failed to gain the support needed to pass. School officials have called attention to the hard choices districts all over Texas have had to make since then — from adopting budget deficits and hiring uncertified teachers to closing schools — as evidence that the state has not invested enough in public education.

Most families participating in the voucher program would receive an amount equal to 85% of what public schools get for each student through state and local funding — roughly somewhere between $10,300 and $10,900 per year for each child, according to a recent legislative budget analysis.

Children with disabilities would be eligible for the same funding as other students, plus up to $30,000 in additional money, an amount based on what the state would regularly spend on special education services for that student in a public school. Home-schoolers could receive up to $2,000 per year.

Almost any school-age child eligible to attend a public school — including those already enrolled in a private school — could participate in the program. Only U.S. citizens or people lawfully in the country could receive funding under the initiative.

The proposal would limit the state to spend no more than $1 billion on the program during the first biennium. If public demand exceeds the funding available, the bill would give priority eligibility to students with disabilities and families it considers low income. The measure would also prioritize students who exit public schools over those already enrolled in private schools.

Unlike public schools, which are generally required by law to educate every child in their community who seeks admission, the bill would not require private schools to accept certain students who do not meet their admissions standards. That means private schools can still deny any child the state places first in line for eligibility. Higher-income families whose children were already attending private schools have primarily benefited from the large-scale voucher programs enacted in other states.

SB 2 also does not require that participants take the same state standardized tests administered to public school students each year — the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. Some voucher critics and school officials have said that distinction creates an unfair playing field because the state often uses those exams to judge the effectiveness of districts and educators.

The voucher bill does require that participating students take a nationally recognized exam. It also mandates an annual report from the state that would include data on participating children’s demographics, testing results, and preparedness for college, career and the military.

Studies in multiple states have shown that vouchers do not consistently lead to improved scores for low-income students, the group many Texas lawmakers say they want to help most. Such programs have even resulted in steep academic declines.

Three academics in 2017 wrote in the Journal of Economic Literature that some evidence suggests that as competition from voucher programs increases, test scores in public schools slightly improve. But, they said, more research was needed to fully understand the programs’ impact. Voucher advocates often note that the benefits of the programs are best measured through parental satisfaction.

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