The Texas Tribune

The Texas Senate voted on Thursday to send legislation creating a statewide private school voucher program to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law, all but concluding an ugly intraparty battle that has dominated state politics for much of the last two years. Abbott has already said that he plans to sign Senate Bill 2, a $1 billion proposal allowing families to use taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private school education. Similar legislation has historically run into opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans. But that changed last week, when the Texas House gave its stamp of approval to SB 2, a vote that included support from Republicans who opposed similar legislation in 2023. Upon Abbott’s signature, the program will officially launch at the start of the 2026-27 school year. SB 2 would initially put $1 billion over a two-year period in taxpayer dollars toward education savings accounts that families could use for private school tuition and other school-related expenses, like textbooks, transportation, and therapy.