Wednesday, in an almost 11-hour marathon debate, the Texas House of Representatives passed legislation that will create Texas’ first private school choice program.
Senate Bill 2 would provide up to $1 billion in 2027 for students to receive $10,000 for private school tuition or a $2,000 homeschooling supplement. Texas’ Legislative Budget Board estimates that 35,000 students will use the Education Savings Accounts created by the legislation to attend private schools. As many as 269,500 homeschool students might participate. About 5.5 million students are currently enrolled in Texas government schools.
School choice supporters celebrated the result of the House debate. Matthew Ladner, who has worked to pass school choice in Arizona, Texas, and other states, posted on X, “The Texas House passage of ESA legislation was a monumental achievement, and should be a pivot point for the choice movement overall.”
The Heritage Foundation’s Jason Bedrick wrote, “In a historic victory for educational freedom, the Texas House of Representatives finally passed a universal school choice bill—marking not just a win for families in the Lone Star State, but a watershed moment for the entire school choice movement.”
Democrats in the Texas House were not happy, however. They tried to stop the bill through amendments, offering more than 40, over 10 plus hours in an attempt to forestall the inevitable 86-61 vote, largely along party lines. Two Republicans joined the Democrats in opposing the bill.
Rep. Gene Wu, who leads the House Democrat Caucus, expressed his anger about school choice during the debate.
“While it purports to be a benefit for the poor, it does nothing but take from the poor and give to the rich,” Wu said.
Some Republicans also opposed school choice, especially those who saw it as an attack on government schools. One of those was Tarrant County GOP precinct chair Hollie Plemons.
“Welp, it passed,” Plemons posted on X. “That’s that. Texas was sold & donors run our state. Sad day & the fools are celebrating.”
Prior to passing the school choice legislation, the Texas House also passed a bill that will increase funding for Texas government schools by almost $8 billion over the next two years. The bills were clearly, though informally, linked. Some conservatives thought the $8 billion price tag was too high a price to pay for school choice.
“The price (for non-universal choice) shouldn’t have been a massive increase in funding for the education bureaucracy,” wrote U.S. Rep Chip Roy (R-Tx). “But here we are. With just $1B in funding [for school choice], less than 1.5% of 6.3 million school-age kids will benefit. But the same ‘deal’ throws $8B more at a $100B-a-year bloated school system.”
Economist Vance Ginn expressed cautious optimism about the school choice program. He called it, “A victory worth celebrating, but serious flaws must be fixed to ensure all Texas families have access to a truly universal, funded, and transformational school choice program. Without major reforms, this ESA program could fall short of its promise—or worse, create a backlash that stalls school choice efforts for years.”
Despite the opposition and concerns, it appears the school choice program will soon become law. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is recommending the Texas Senate approve House changes to the version of the school choice bill that earlier passed the Senate. If that happens, the bill will head to the desk of Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, a strong advocate of school choice. Students will be eligible to access the program beginning in the 2027-28 school year.
