When budgets get tight, which students will Texas prioritize?

A central issue in the 2026 campaign is becoming a conversation about education, and really, it should be. Education is one of the biggest things the State of Texas does and one of the biggest things it pays for. State leaders are telling us they put a historic $8.5 billion more into public education last session; let’s break down exactly what that means.

Texas now funds education through what I describe as three different lanes: traditional public schools, public charter schools, and the newly created Education Freedom Accounts, or vouchers, where individual families can use state money to pay for private school, homeschool, and other approved education expenses.

During the last session, lawmakers made funding commitments to all three.