Club for Growth Action and the allied School Freedom Fund helped push the school choice agenda through the Texas legislature, with spending on the 2024 primaries. David McIntosh, president of the conservative group, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that school choice is “the civil rights fight of our generation.”
CFG said it spent about $8.5 million during the Texas primaries and runoffs, weeding out ten Texas Republicans who do not agree with school choice, which “is just the beginning,” McIntosh said.
“The fact is, you can’t call yourself a Republican anymore if you oppose school choice. And if you stand with left-wing teacher unions as opposed to families, you should expect to lose your next primary,” McIntosh said.
Rep. Brian Harrison, a vocal proponent of school choice, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that none of the education legislation would have gotten finished in Texas without outside forces.
“I’m grateful to President Trump, Senator Cruz, and groups like Club for Growth who were all in during the Texas primaries and demanded Texas finally pass universal school choice. Without outside pressure, Texas House leadership, which gives liberal teacher unions undo power, never would’ve passed any education freedom bill,” Harrison said in his statement.
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum is the basis for all public schools in Texas. The legislature controls this curriculum through amending or adding to the law, which the State Board of Education then uses as guidance when updating is needed.
Here is what the Texas lawmakers achieved this session on education.
Post-Grad Readiness
General curricula as well as career-focused programs were updated or added this year. The legislature made a major push toward creating qualified workers with high return-on-investment certifications, similar to sentiments in Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s opening statement at a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on Wednesday.
The Applied Science Pathway Program, initiated in Texas House Bill 20, allows students to earn a high school diploma and certain certifications simultaneously. Other career readiness factors are included with the passage of Texas House Bill 120, which both implemented funds and outlined the state’s goals for students as they graduate.
“The students who graduate high school in the public education system will have the skills and credentials necessary to immediately enter this state ’s workforce,” one goal in the text said.
Personal finance courses were added to the social studies curriculum in Texas House Bill 27 as part of this year’s big push toward career and post-graduate readiness. Programs about paternity and parenting awareness among students were also created in Texas Senate Bill 1207.
Mental health, absenteeism, and religion were addressed in new education laws. Texas Senate Bill 207 provided for excused absences from school for mental health appointments. Telehealth mental health services were also provided for at school in Texas House Bill 6.
Senate Bill 991 looks to stem chronic absenteeism by expanding the definition of students at risk of dropping out and reporting truancy data.
A religious provision made in Texas Senate Bill 10 is being fought by the Texas ACLU. Texas SB 10 mandates that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all classrooms starting this September. Some Texas lawmakers, including Christian Rep. James Talarico, have argued about the separation between church and state regardless of their religious affiliations, according to the Texas Tribune.
The ACLU of Texas announced in May, with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Freedom From Religion Foundation, a lawsuit challenging the Ten Commandments provision. They asserted that posters displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, ones being no smaller than 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, are “blatantly unconstitutional,” mentioning Supreme Court precedent from cases such as Stone v. Graham.
Many school choice measures were passed in the 2025 Texas legislative session, as it is a top issue in the state. The biggest of those bills was a $1 billion voucher program. The office of Gov. Greg Abbott, who ran on school choice promises in 2022, referred the Washington Examiner to a previous statement when asked about Texas’s education moves this year.
“I am signing this law that will ensure Texas families, whose children can no longer be served by the public school assigned to them, have the choice to take their money and find the school that is right for them,” Abbott said in the release.
Protections were also made for charter schools and their staff in Texas House Bill 4687, giving them the same protections against lawsuits and liability as traditional public schools. It also adds protections for those operating adult education programs.
Parents were given more ability to make decisions for their students with the legislation passed this year, such as in making choices about library materials in Texas Senate Bill 13. Home school programs became less regulated in Texas House Bill 2674, allowing parents to play a more active role in making their child’s experience unique. Virtual education waivers, similar to school vouchers, were also provided for in Texas Senate bill 569.
Safety, Discipline
Texas passed House Bill 121 to boost campus security at schools by allowing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to commission peace officers. After the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde in 2022, Texas required public schools to have armed guards on campus.
Senate Bill 57 provides safety measures for disabled students in emergency situations.
CPR training is also becoming more widely required of educators and support personnel by Senate bill 865. Another law allows referees to eject unruly spectators from sports events on campus without warning in order to enhance safety and minimize distractions.
Educators also received more ability in Texas House Bill 6 to deny admission to students who previously were expelled by a school, were in the juvenile justice system or been convicted of a crime. The bill also amends the suspension policy to include substance use and more.
Technology, Disabled students
Provisions were made in accounting for the wider use of technology among young individuals. Gen-Z Rep. Caroline Fairey authored Texas House Bill 1481, which banned “personal communication device” usage during school hours. Schools are now coming up with policies and storage units for the technology. Exceptions are allowed, such as whether a special education student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) calls for it.
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Many provisions were made for disabled students of all kinds. Resources, such as information on services and benefits, are now required to be disseminated by schools to parents of disabled students due to House Bill 1188. Early learning opportunities are also made more available by House Bill 2310.
The way special education is funded was updated in Senate Bill 568 using the Foundation School Program, which serves socially and emotionally disabled students. More funding for the Foundation Program was provided in Senate Bill 260 as well.
