Texas Passes School Vouchers—Because Who Needs Public Schools Anyway?

Texas Passes School Vouchers—Because Who Needs Public Schools Anyway?

After 10 hours of debate and zero public input, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2—also known as “school choice,” but really just a fancy name for public money, private pockets.

Here’s the rundown:

$1 billion of taxpayer money now goes to private school vouchers.

Only 100,000 of Texas’s 5.5 million students can even qualify.

Why? Because it’s a lottery—hope your kid gets lucky.

Here’s what that golden ticket gets you:

$10,000 if you go to private school

$11,500 if you have a disability

$2,000 if you’re homeschooled

Now the twist:

Private schools get the cash, but don’t have to follow any state rules.

They can:

Hire uncertified teachers

Set their own tuition

Refuse to admit your kid—even if you have a voucher

And while public schools lose students, they lose funding too.

So the places that serve everyone—disabled, undocumented, low-income, rural—get gutted.

Low-income, by the way, now means families making $161,000 or less (because Texas math).

And before you ask: No, Texans didn’t get to vote on this.

Democrats pushed for a statewide referendum.

Republicans said nope.

Because democracy is optional when you're in power.

So congrats, Texas:

The rich get choice.

The rest get chaos.

And public schools? They get defunded.