Opinion | Texas and the Politics of School Choice

Isn’t Texas supposed to be the land of the free and brave? Apparently not when it comes to education. Some GOP legislators in the Lone Star State have bowed to the teachers union and scuttled a bill to expand school choice, but they could pay a political price for it.

Texas is a rare GOP-led state with no school-choice programs, but Gov. Greg Abbott has made establishing one a top priority. This autumn he called legislators back to Austin to pass a universal education savings account (ESA) bill. Each student would be eligible for $10,500 annually, which parents could spend on private school tuition and other education expenses.