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Op-Ed: An education revolution in Texas

Look out, Arizona and Florida, Texas may soon challenge you for top billing regarding educational freedom. In his State of the State address on Feb. 2, Republican Gov. Greg Abbot declared school choice an emergency item, which gives it priority in the legislature. This came on the heels of lawmakers in both chambers pushing school choice funds in the budget and a senate bill that would create an expansive education savings account program that would allow state funding to follow students to a variety of educational options.

As the largest red state in the nation, it’s been shocking to see the Lone Star State resist adopting school choice policies like ESAs. However, after Gov. Abbott helped oust Republican lawmakers who opposed his school choice plan, 2025 could be the year of an education revolution in Texas.

The revolution has been a long time coming. It’s easy to understand how Texas, like other states, started assigning kids to schools based on their addresses instead of their needs – transportation was difficult when the system was set up in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But, as you may have noticed, times have changed. There’s no longer any rationale for a school-focused system.

Fortunately, other states have already blazed a trail toward a student-focused system. More than 1.2 million students are participating in one of the 74 school choice programs on the books in 33 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. These include vouchers and tax credit scholarships that can be used for private school tuition, opening up new student opportunities. However, 17 states have gone even further, creating education savings accounts (ESAs) that can be used for various educational expenses, such as tutoring, curricula, and services for special needs, in addition to private school tuition. Tennessee recently became the 18th state with passage of the Education Freedom Act of 2025.

It seems like Texas – known to be fiercely independent – would be at the forefront of school choice. But that is not the case. Texas doesn’t have a single private school choice program. Not yet, anyway.

Abbott has set out to change this and ensure Texas students don’t fall further behind in educational choice. After battling members of his own party over his ESA legislation in 2023, Abbott went on offense, backing several 2024 primary challengers against the House Republicans who obstructed his program. As a result, his plan is likely to pass this year.

School choice supporters in the legislature came out swinging this year. Budget proposals introduced on Jan. 22 in both the Texas House of Representatives and Senate call for $1 billion for education savings accounts. That’s double the size of the program the Senate passed in 2023. On Jan. 24, state Sen. Brandon Creighton (R), chair of the Senate Education Committee, introduced legislation to create an education savings account with universal eligibility.

A universal eligibility ESA with a $1 billion cap would immediately launch Texas to the top tier regarding educational freedom. Which, frankly, is where it ought to be.

What should Texans expect if predictions are correct and they soon have access to school choice? It’s not the gloom and doom you hear from people in the education establishment who oppose choice, that’s for sure. (It is worth checking out the very amusing Chicken Little report EdChoice put out a few years ago, which debunks decades of “the sky is falling” claims by school choice foes.)

In Arizona and Florida, the states with the most robust choice – and, especially, the broadest ESA programs – innovative educational options are flourishing. Many parents realize their children are getting lost in the district schools they’ve been assigned to. They’re choosing options like homeschooling; microschools, which are smaller schools that often group kids by ability instead of just age to ensure they’re getting the support they need; and hybrid schools, where kids learn in person some days and at home some days.

While these unconventional models already exist to some degree in Texas, when funding follows the students, families across the income spectrum are better equipped to participate. Even in rural areas, of which Texas has plenty, new educational options flourish with school choice.

While children are the primary beneficiaries of educational freedom, teachers are a close second. The chief complaints of public school teachers are often too much bureaucracy and too little autonomy. No wonder so many microschools are created by former public school teachers. When I talk to founders around the country, they often say things such as, “I loved being a teacher, but the system didn’t allow me to do what I knew the kids needed.” Many especially want to serve disadvantaged communities, and school choice programs help make that dream a reality.

For supporters of educational freedom, all eyes are on the Lone Star State this year. If lawmakers pass a “Texas-sized” ESA program, it will be a game changer for the students who need other options but can’t currently access them.

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