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In Texas, a $1 billion-a-year school choice program has passed a major hurdle. As voters in other states have soured on school vouchers, in Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has made them a top priority. Here's the Texas Newsroom's Blaise Gainey in Austin.
BLAISE GAINEY, BYLINE: You've probably heard them called school vouchers, Education Freedom or savings accounts. They're basically the same thing - state programs that use taxpayer dollars to help families pay for private school tuition. Just last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to help states figure out how to use federal funds to support these programs. That's a commitment he's had since his first term.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school that is right for them.
GAINEY: Since Trump's comments in 2017, legislatures in Arizona, Arkansas and most recently Tennessee, have created voucher-like programs. But in 2024, voters got to decide and rejected them in Colorado, Nebraska and Kentucky. In comes the Lone Star State, where Governor Greg Abbott has been trying to create a program since last session.
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GREG ABBOTT: Parents also deserve education freedom. Without that freedom, some parents are hindered in being able to help their child succeed. That must change this year.
GAINEY: It didn't change that year, mainly because rural Republicans and Democrats refused to pass the measure. In response, Abbott vowed to run candidates against 15 Republicans who voted down his bill. Eleven of them won. But that hasn't made the opponents go away. University of Texas Professor David DeMatthews is one of them.
DAVID DEMATTHEWS: I think they've looked past significant evidence suggesting that vouchers are problematic and don't lead to improved outcomes and blow up the budget.
GAINEY: DeMatthews says private schools aren't always better than public schools. Tijuana Hudson agrees. She works with a group in Texas that advocates for education policies.
TIJUANA HUDSON: Low-income students and students of color who historically face educational inequities could be placed in low-quality private schools with no means for families to be able to make informed choices.
GAINEY: Opponents also argue about who can participate in the program. School choice proponents have said the program is designed to help families who can't afford to send their kids to private schools. But Dallas Democrat Senator Royce West told the bill's sponsor that the cap being set at five times the poverty level is too high.
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ROYCE WEST: So a family of four, as an example - right? - that ends up being roughly $156,000. And then the median income in the state of Texas for family of four is about $76,000, OK? And so this does not prioritize the lowest income in our state.
GAINEY: Families who are approved to be in the system will get $10,000 to send their child to a public school, but DeMatthews says that's not enough to truly help low-income families.
DEMATTHEWS: And that's why in other states, we see that the majority of people who use vouchers are wealthy families that are already sending their kids to private schools.
GAINEY: But bill sponsor Republican Senator Brandon Creighton says he's heard from families across the state who say they want this for better educational opportunities for their children.
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BRANDON CREIGHTON: Let's get this done for who this plan actually serves - students in Texas that need help the most.
GAINEY: Now the bill heads to the House, where Abbott believes he's got the votes to pass it. For NPR News, I'm Blaise Gainey in Austin.
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