Texas Approves Controversial School Voucher Law, Jeopardizing Public Education

Texas Senate Bill 2 passed on May 3, 2025, with a vote of nineteen in favor and twelve opposed. This contentious bill has dealt a significant blow to the public school budgets in Texas. One billion tax dollars will be siphoned from Texas taxpayers to subsidize private school vouchers, leaving essential school functions underfunded by the state budget. According to the Texas Freedom Network, this bill is “a direct assault on the Texas public education system.”

What Is the Texas School Voucher Program?

Senate Bill 2, or SB2, is also known as the school choice bill. This legislation will allow families to use public taxpayers’ dollars to fund their children's education at an accredited private school or homeschool plan. This program will be one of the largest school voucher programs in the country and is projected to come at an equally large cost to public schools. 

How Does the Texas School Voucher Program Work?

School vouchers are taxpayer-funded subsidies given to private schools and vendors without any transparency or accountability. In Texas, the laws state that most Texan families will be eligible for the vouchers regardless of income because there is currently no income cap for higher tax brackets. 

Vouchers go by many different names, including education savings accounts (ESAs), tax credit scholarships, and special education grants. The school voucher program was a pillar of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's political platform during his reelection campaign in 2022.

“When I ran for reelection in 2022, I promised school choice for the families of Texas. Today, we deliver on that promise,” said Abbott while signing the bill. “Gone are the days that families are limited to only the school assigned by the government. The day has arrived that empowers parents to choose the school that’s best for their child.” 

This year, Abbott strong-armed the bill into law by calling emergency legislative sessions twice before it was passed. Many Republicans who initially opposed the bill in 2023 felt forced to back the bill this time or face becoming ostracized by their party. The Texas Governor also pursued aggressive campaigns against members of his party who did not bend to his will. 

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How the School Voucher Program Affects School Funding 

School voucher programs have been strongly resisted in Texas because of the negative impact on public school funding. Studies conducted in other states with school voucher programs in place have found that the majority of public school students who receive a voucher will return to public school in the future because private school tuition is still too expensive in the long term. This means that school vouchers are essentially tax-funded subsidies for the rich who can already afford private school tuition for their children. 

A March 2023 report by Public Funds Public Schools (PFPS), a Southern Poverty Law Center project, analyzed trends in voucher spending and public education funding from fiscal year 2008 through 2019. The seven states with the most extensive experience with voucher programs were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Researchers found that six of the seven states froze or reduced their investment in public school budgets on a per-student basis. In all seven states with voucher programs, the portion of state income invested in public schools dropped, which is in stark contrast to states without voucher programs, where the public school budget increased by around 10.7 percent. 

Studies show that the real beneficiaries of school voucher programs are the wealthy students already enrolled in private schools. In the seven states with existing school voucher programs, it is estimated that anywhere from 75 to 89 percent of students receiving voucher funds were already enrolled in a private institution. 

Who Will Be Hit the Hardest?

For nearly a decade, rural legislators have opposed voucher programs, breaking party lines to defend their local schools and communities. These officials argue that public schools in rural areas are an indispensable resource where private options often aren’t readily available. They claim those who are pushing vouchers as “school choice” are out of touch with the realities of rural communities.  

In Texas, 950,000 out of 5.4 million school-age children live in rural areas. These portions of the state rarely have private school options within driving distance, meaning the taxpayers of these districts are subsidizing a service they don’t have access to. 

The school vouchers are also projected to negatively impact school budgets in underserved communities in cities and reduce spending for programs supporting students with disabilities. 

“Remember this day next time a school closes in your neighborhood,” state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said a few hours before the bill passed. “Remember this day next time a beloved teacher quits because they can't support their family on their salary. Remember this day next time your local property taxes rise because the state government is not doing its fair share of school funding.”

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How School Vouchers Affect Texas’s School Libraries 

The potential budget cuts to public school funding could have a dire effect on Texas’s public school libraries. The reduced budget could lead to cuts in staffing and library budgets. Additionally, public schools may have less funding to devote to purchasing books, computers, and other essential library resources, as well as less money for hiring qualified librarians. 

Support Public Schools and Their Libraries Now

While SB2 is already a law, there are still steps you can take to support public education and access to libraries. Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about the work we are doing to protect access to learning resources and libraries for public schools and local libraries. Discover actionable steps you can take to make a difference, like contacting your government representative and attending crucial meetings in your area. Make your voice heard when you support EveryLibrary. 

Additional Resources

• After Decades of Lobbying by Christian Conservative Donors, School Voucher Legislation May Finally Have the Votes
• Cy-Fair ISD’s Libraries Are Frequently Closed After Trustees Cut Librarian Positions in Half
• Fact Check: Do Voucher Programs Really Increase Public School Funding?
• How the $1 Billion Texas School Voucher Program Could Have a Nationwide Ripple Effect
• In Private School Voucher Push, Gov. Abbott Breaks Through by Playing Hardball
• Private School Vouchers Are Now Law in Texas. Here’s How They Will Work.
• Public Schools, Not Vouchers, Offer the Most School Choice
• School Vouchers 101
• Texas Senate Bill 2
• What Are School Vouchers in Texas? What to Know About Senate Bill 2

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