Texas Set To Roll Out Country's Biggest School Choice Initiative

Yahoo

a day ago

(Texas Scorecard) – After decades of campaigning by education reform advocates, Texas is set to enact the nation's largest education savings account program, opening new options for up to 100,000 students. The state will spend the next year preparing for the program's 2026-2027 launch.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2, which creates the ESA program, into law on May 3.
An ESA allots funds to parents for use toward a range of educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, and online learning.
The program, which has been allocated $1 billion by the Legislature, will support up to 100,000 students, making it the largest launch of a universal school choice program in the nation, according to the governor.
Most students will receive $10,000. However, special needs students will receive $11,500, and homeschool students are eligible for $2,000.
The ESA program will be managed by the Texas comptroller.
The comptroller will maintain a list of pre-approved vendors and educational providers, but participating families will also be able to request approval for other vendors and educational providers to suit their needs.
A specific provision in the legislation dictates that no rule or action may prohibit or restrict religious or institutional values when distributing funds. In addition, it prevents limitations on participating parents when 'determining the methods or curriculum to educate students.'
If the program is not maxed out the first year, a weighted lottery will determine who is next in line to receive funding.
Once the program is rolled out, students will be considered in the following order:
Siblings of currently participating students
All other students
Former students who have previously been enrolled in the program but have since stopped for a period of time
The program further prioritizes students based on household income and disability status:
Households 500 percent below the federal poverty line whose participating child has a disability
Households 200 percent below the poverty line, which are expected to be the largest qualifying group
Households 200 percent above the poverty line
Households 500 percent above the poverty line
No more than 20 percent of the funding will go towards the latter priority group, though it's unlikely to reach that amount.
The comptroller's office will provide further details on the application process in 2026.
In addition to school choice, lawmakers also passed House Bill 2, which covers public school finance. The total K-12 education funding for the 2026–2027 biennium is about $80 billion out of a $338 billion state budget. HB 2 increases the basic allotment per student from $6,160 to $6,215, which districts can use to meet a variety of needs, while the rest of the funding is earmarked to expand teacher incentives and create more grant funding.
However, additional oversight of public education was also a priority of lawmakers. Senate Bill 12 increases parental control and oversight in K-12 education, limits DEI-related activities, and enhances transparency and accountability in Texas schools. It also bans instruction or programming regarding gender identity and sexual orientation.