In a landmark moment decades in the making, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2, officially making school choice the law of the land in Texas.
The signing ceremony, held at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday, drew an energized crowd of more than 1,400 RSVPs, according to Abbott’s staff, and marked the culmination of a legislative battle decades in the making.
The festive atmosphere included live music, families, children, activists, and lawmakers who have long championed the cause. It was a victory lap not only for Abbott, but for a movement that has sought to bring school choice to Texas for years.
“It’s time that we put our children on a pathway to having the number one ranked education system in the United States of America,” Abbott said at the signing. “Knowing that school choice is part of the formula of achieving that mission.”
The new law creates education savings accounts (ESAs) of up to $10,000 per student to be used for private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, and other approved educational expenses. Students with disabilities will receive $11,500, and homeschoolers will be eligible for $2,000. Up to 100,000 students will be able to participate in the program beginning in the 2026–2027 school year.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a longtime advocate of school choice, praised the moment.
“It took a long time to cross the river, but we have crossed the river today because of all of you… You cannot live the American Dream if you don’t have a quality education,” said Patrick.
He added that the law will not only benefit students receiving ESAs, but also “make public schools even more competitive and better.”
House Speaker Dustin Burrows, who oversaw advancing the bill through the historically resistant Texas House, also spoke at the event.
“School choice is now the law in the state of Texas…Despite all the noise, all the attacks, they knew school choice was the moral thing. They knew it was the right thing to give children opportunities to go to the place that fits them the best. They knew it was the principled thing to do that competition makes all things better,” said Burrows.
Abbott hailed the measure as “the largest day-one school of choice program in the United States.”
The law’s implementation is set to begin in the 2026–2027 school year.
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