Legislation allocating $1 billion in state funds to give Texas students the option to attend their school of choice has passed a committee vote and will advance to a vote in the Texas House.

The Texas House Committee on Public Education passed SB2, the largest day-one school choice bill in the nation’s history, by a 9-6 vote.

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Gov. Greg Abbott, a major proponent of the bill, applauded GOP leadership within the committee for its ability to advance the bill to the House floor, moving “universal school choice one step closer to my desk.”

“This achievement was truly a team effort,” Abbott said. “Chairman Brad Buckley and the members of his committee worked around the clock to hear public testimony that lasted for nearly 24 hours. I thank them, as well as Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dustin Burrows, and Chairman Brandon Creighton, for their tireless work to empower Texas parents and students by providing school choice.”

Abbott and school choice advocates are confident that the legislation will be swiftly passed in the House.

The legislation would establish Texas’s first Education Savings Account program, with a $1 billion allocation. All six million Texas students would be eligible to apply, with funds usable for private school tuition, tutoring, extracurricular activities, transportation, and special needs therapy. Students would receive up to $10,800, while those with special needs could receive funding equivalent to what they would get at a public school. Homeschool students would be eligible for up to $2,000. If passed, the funds would be available in the 2026-2027 school year.

Establishing an ESA program has been a major part of Abbot’s agenda. He spent $6 million in 2024 Texas legislature races supporting candidates who vowed to vote in favor of school choice. 

“The momentum driving states to deliver school choice is unstoppable,” Nathan Cunneen, Texas State Director for the American Federation for Children, said in a statement. “Parents are demanding the ability to choose the best educational path for their children, and their elected leaders are responding.”

Polling from Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research & Survey Center reveals that 63% of Texas voters support creating Texas’s first Education Savings Account program. 

Opponents of the bill argue the legislation will wreak havoc on public schools.

“This voucher bill will eventually destroy public schools,” Democratic Rep. Alma Allen said. “I give it 10 years, five sessions from now. Once you open the box, many of these will pop up and will eventually destroy our public schools.”

HOW TRUMP’S PROMISE TO ABOLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WOULD WORK

Texas’s charge to expand school choice comes as President Donald Trump attempts to abolish the Education Department and seek to give the states authority over education policy. 

At the federal level, GOP lawmakers are pushing the Educational Choice for Children’s Act, which would create tax credits to fund school choice programs.