An education savings account plan that will allow families to use public dollars on private schooling was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday..
The school choice measure is expected to cost $1 billion in its first year — potentially the largest such program in the country if 90,000 students participate as projected.
Texas joins 34 other states that offer some form of a school choice program, according to the nonprofit EdChoice.
After decades of pushback, Republican state leaders were confident this would be the year Texas established a robust school voucherlike program that allows families to use an ESA on private schools, homeschooling and other education-related costs.
Democrats’ efforts to fight the measure failed, including a move that would have put the fate of education savings accounts before Texas voters.
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Abbott and others spent enormous political capital garnering support for ESAs, which included campaigning against rural GOP House members who opposed such proposals in 2023.
Public education advocates oppose any plan resembling school vouchers, saying such programs drain resources from the campuses that educate more than 5 million children in Texas.
Supporters of ESAs say families should get state funding for the educational settings that best fit their needs.
Here’s what to know about ESAs in Texas.
What is an education savings account, or ESA?
ESAs establish dedicated accounts fueled by public funds that families can tap into to pay for education expenses.
Under Texas’ plan, an ESA could fund private school tuition, support homeschooling or be used for other education-related costs.
Arizona established such a system in 2011 with Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. It was expanded in 2022 to become a universal program.
Critics have cited that state’s ballooning ESA costs as a major factor in a budget shortfall, while supporters say the measure has lifted kids away from failing schools.
In Texas, a legislative advisory board projected the bill’s costs would eventually grow to billions per-year.
Related:For a Texas mother of triplets with disabilities, school-choice debate feels hollow
Who would be prioritized for an ESA under Texas’ plan?
ESAs will be open to most students in Texas except for undocumented children, according to the plan.
In other states, many families who end up using ESA dollars were already enrolled in private schools, according to data reported by those states.
But nearly universal eligibility doesn’t mean everyone who wants an ESA will receive it. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has estimated that about 90,000 students could access the fund.
Children with disabilities and those from low-income families would be prioritized if demand exceeds supply.
What about immigrant students?
Undocumented students can not access ESAs under the plan.
Only a child who is a citizen, has legal status or who is a “national of the United States” would be eligible.
Any child living in the country has a right to public education based on a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a case out of Texas known as Plyler vs. Doe.
Related:US law entitles immigrant children to an education. Some conservatives want that to change
The bill’s provision blocking undocumented students comes amid a national crackdown on immigration enforcement.
How much money would a Texas family receive in an ESA?
The ESA will be worth 85% of the per-student funding that public schools receive from the state and in local tax revenue.
That would equal about $10,330 in 2027 and rise to roughly $10,900 by 2030, according to state budget board projections.
Students with disabilities could receive up to up to $30,000. Homeschooled students could receive $2,000.
How much will a school choice plan cost Texas?
Republican state budget writers want to spend $1 billion of the state’s nearly $24 billion surplus to fund the program.
A legislative advisory board had previously projected that an ESA program’s annual cost could balloon to nearly $4 billion by 2030.
Abbott has said those estimates are “based on nothing but fiction.”
Do other states offer school choice?
Across the country, 34 states — plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico — have some form of school choice program, according to the nonprofit EdChoice.
Those include various forms of school vouchers, ESAs, tax credits and others. Seventeen other states offer ESAs.
Thirteen states offer vouchers, which are similar to an ESA but typically only can be applied toward private school tuition and not other education expenses.
Many plans started as pilot programs with limited eligibility, but more are moving to near universal offerings.
Momentum is expected to continue as national leaders make expanding school choice a priority.
Dallas Morning News reporter Philip Jankowski and Education Lab editor Eva-Marie Ayala contributed to this article.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism, Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
