AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott signed a school voucher bill on Saturday afternoon at the governor’s mansion.
Abbott was joined at the ceremony by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, along with other school voucher advocates.
“When I ran for reelection in 2022, I promised school choice for the families of Texas,” Abbott said Saturday afternoon before signing the bill. “Today, we deliver on that promise.”
“Gone are the days that families are limited to only the school assigned by government. The day has arrived that empowers parents to choose the school that’s best for their child. Today school choice becomes law in the great state of Texas.”
WATCH BELOW: Earlier this year, KSAT Explains took a deep dive on the impact of school vouchers in other states.
On April 17, a majority of Texas’ House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill. A week later, state Senators approved Senate Bill 2, which pushed the bill to the governor for him to sign.
The public taxpayer dollars can be used for private school tuition or costs for homeschooling and virtual learning programs.
In its first year, the school voucher program will be capped at $1 billion and used by up to 90,000 students, but it could grow to nearly $4.5 billion per year by 2030.
Families could get up to $10,000 each year per student under the program, and a student with disabilities would be eligible for as much as $30,000 per year.
At least 28 states have some version of a program that uses public funds for private education.
This school voucher program is one of the largest in the country.
The law will go into effect on Sept. 1, 2025, and the program will launch with the 2026-27 school year.
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