WACO, Texas (KXXV) — As part of their public push to establish a private school voucher program in Texas, Republican leaders have frequently responded to concerns about the state’s public education system by pointing out that school districts receive over $15,000 per student.
Abbott, typically a cautious political operator, invested more political capital into the voucher initiative than any other issue during his eight years as governor.
He made school choice a central plank of his reelection campaign, labeled it a top legislative priority, and took an aggressive approach — leveraging teacher pay raises and school funding increases, vetoing bills backed by Republican holdouts, and threatening primary challenges to lawmakers who opposed his plan.
On April 16, 2025, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows scheduled a press conference alongside Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley, Vice Chair Diego Bernal, fellow committee members, and several superintendents to spotlight the school finance proposals in House Bill 2.
The event comes ahead of the bill’s scheduled debate on the House floor and emphasizes what lawmakers call historic investments in Texas public education.
