In Texas, family values reign supreme. Citizens of the Lone Star State strive to ensure future generations of Texans are in the best position to succeed long-term. Providing every student—from every family—access to the quality education they deserve is the surest path toward this goal.
Gov. Abbott made this abundantly clear in Sunday’s State of the State address.
During his address, Abbott declared an educational emergency, emphasizing that universal school freedom is Texas’ top legislative priority. This declaration will force a vote in the State Legislature to expand the state’s existing program.
The Texas State Senate promptly passed the school freedom bill. Now, the onus falls on the State House. House lawmakers must unite to pass SB 2 without compromising or reducing its universal nature. School freedom should be for every Texas student, not just some.
Supporting this bill is not only the right thing to do but is also a sound political move.
The voters have spoken loud and clear in Texas. They want school freedom.
During the 2024 election cycle, Club for Growth Action and its affiliated super PACs helped make school freedom a possibility for Texas voters by opposing House members who blocked Gov. Abbott’s education agenda. The $8.8 million campaign defeated 10 incumbent Republicans who opposed the bill last legislative session.
Texans are eager to see SB 2 pass, and Club for Growth Action will be ready to hold Texas lawmakers accountable again if they don’t listen to the will of their constituents.
Once passed, SB 2 would allow families to choose which schools—public, private, charter, or homeschool—to send their children to using taxpayer dollars provided through education savings accounts (ESAs). Texas families would have access to $10,000 per pupil per year through these ESAs for school tuition, education fees, certification programs, textbooks, school-related transportation, and other educational expenses.
SB 2 also awards more funding—$11,500 annually—to those with disabilities and $2,000 annually to home-schooling families who opt into the program. If demand for funding exceeds the allotted amount, underserved and disabled students would be given priority.
Despite critics’ claims, school freedom initiatives, including SB 2, benefit every student from every school.
Creating competition improves educational outcomes.
Administrators and teachers must adapt to remain competitive in an evolving learning landscape.
Educators may enhance their classroom materials or devote more individualized instruction time to students. There is significant room for innovation and improvement.
Additionally, Texas is well-equipped to fund SB 2 without raising taxes. In fact, SB 2 will reduce government spending and save taxpayers money in the long term, just like similar initiatives have in other states. In Iowa, for example, taxpayers have saved more than $280 million since the School Tuition Organization Tax Credit was established in 2007. Texas families would save about $6,000 per child using ESA dollars instead of sending them to public school.
Recently, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hager announced that the legislature has a $24 billion budget surplus from the previous session, more than enough to make the nation’s most extensive day-one school freedom initiative program a reality.
Unfortunately, SB 2’s benefits for students and the State of Texas are meaningless if State House Republicans do not take unified action to keep the bill’s comprehensive components intact. That means there is no room for delay or renegotiating its current text for a watered-down version.
We commend Gov. Abbott for his leadership in making Texas the nation’s next state to pass universal school freedom. The people have spoken, and now state legislators must listen.
If any Republican opposes Gov. Abbott and spurns their constituents, Club for Growth Action and School Freedom Fund are ready to engage.
This is a commentary published with the author’s permission. If you wish to submit a commentary to Texas Scorecard, please submit your article to submission@texasscorecard.com.
