In his February 16, 2023, State of the State Address, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a number of emergency items for the 88th Texas Legislature. These included cutting property taxes by $15 billion, school safety, and passing a school choice program “through state-funded Education Savings Accounts.”
On ESAs, Abbott said:
“We’ve seen them work in other states — and here in Texas. I created Education Savings Accounts for special needs students. It worked so well that a bipartisan super-majority passed it into law and now wants to increase funding for it. Now, it’s time to provide every parent with the ability to choose the best education option for their child. To be clear, under this school choice program, all public schools will be fully funded for every student. This is so vital to the future of our state that I am making education freedom an emergency item this session.”
Abbott also mentioned that the state will “do even more” this session in response to teacher pay raises.
