For the past decade, I have seen various versions of proposals to use taxpayer dollars for private schools. Each has had different names and components, but at their core, they all share one common feature — public dollars for private education.
Senate Bill 2, which creates an Education Savings Account (ESA) program, is just the latest attempt. While supporters claim it expands opportunity, the reality is that it diverts much-needed public funds from public schools to private schools with little accountability, leaving most Texas families behind.
Despite being marketed as a “universal” school choice program, SB 2 is not about school choice. It’s about the SCHOOL’S choice.
Private school vouchers create the illusion of choice while shifting the true decision-making power to private institutions. If a child has discipline issues or special education needs, the school has the option to turn them away. If tuition goes beyond what the ESA covers, families are left to cover the difference. And for families who can’t afford transportation or uniforms, they are effectively excluded from participating.
We have great private schools in our community, but public dollars should come with public accountability. That’s the difference. Public schools answer to taxpayers. Private schools don’t. This isn’t about whether private schools are good or bad — it’s about whether we’re making good policy.
In other words, this program offers a chance, not a choice.
Let’s be clear about who actually benefits. According to the official fiscal note, 95% of students expected to use ESAs in the first year are already in private or home schools. That means this program is not primarily helping students leave struggling public schools — it’s subsidizing private education for families who have already chosen that path.
Even with these funds, many families won’t be able to afford private school tuition, which averages $11,337 per year statewide and exceeds $19,000 for specialized schools serving students with disabilities. Meanwhile, more than 150 Texas counties don’t have a single private school, leaving rural students without any real access to this so-called “choice.”
Beyond the inequities, the financial burden of this program is staggering. Arizona’s universal voucher system has already ballooned to five times its projected cost, and Texas is heading down the same road. SB 2 is expected to cost $1 billion in 2027 and surge past $4.5 billion by 2030 — money that will be pulled from our already underfunded public schools.
Public schools are the backbone of our communities, but they are already struggling to do more with less.
Texas ranks 46th in per-pupil funding, with students receiving $4,400 less than the national average. The basic allotment per student has remained at $6,160 since 2019, despite inflationary pressures that would require it to be at least $7,671 in 2025 just to keep pace. Meanwhile, special education services are underfunded by $2 billion, teachers earn $9,000 less than the national average, and school districts across the state are grappling with insufficient funding for transportation, security, and other critical needs.
SB 2 threatens to drain even more resources from public education, turning bad to worse.
Additionally, supporters argue that ESAs simply give parents more options, but history provides a cautionary tale. School voucher programs in the U.S. have roots in segregation, originally designed to allow white families to use public funds to avoid integration. Without strict oversight, SB 2 risks leading Texas down a similar path — concentrating students with the greatest needs in underfunded public schools while taxpayer dollars subsidize private institutions with little accountability.
The Texas Constitution is clear: it is the Legislature’s duty to provide an efficient system of public free schools. Instead of fulfilling that obligation, SB 2 prioritizes private institutions over the 98% of Texas students who rely on public education. With a $24 billion budget surplus, we have the opportunity to fully fund our public schools, reduce class sizes, raise teacher pay, and invest in the success of every child. SB 2 does the opposite.
History will not judge this legislation kindly. It is not school choice — it is a taxpayer-funded subsidy for private schools that leaves public school students behind. That is why I stand against it, and why I will continue fighting for a Texas where every child, in every community, has access to a strong public education.
Editor’s note: Sen. Blanco voted against SB 2, which passed the Texas Senate on February 5. It now moves on for consideration by the Texas House.
