Governor Abbott pledges expansion of school choice during Edinburg event

Governor Greg Abbott has committed to collaborating with the Texas Legislature to broaden school choice in the current legislative session. This announcement was made during a Parent Empowerment Night held at Harvest Christian Academy in Edinburg.

"Education excellence is what we're trying to achieve," stated Governor Abbott. "We need to ensure that every student gets to find the pathway that's best for them and that we make it available for parents to choose the pathway that’s best for their child. When we finish the session, we will set record highs for the most funding for our public schools than ever in the history of our state. We're going to increase teacher salaries so that the average teacher salary in Texas will be at a record high in Texas. We must become No. 1 in educating our students, and the pathway to achieve that is through school choice."

Abbott emphasized his firm support for school choice, marking it as an emergency item for the 89th Legislative Session. He noted that many Texans across rural, urban, and suburban areas favor expanding school choice options for all families in Texas. Furthermore, he promised to elevate Texas's educational standing by empowering parents, ensuring proper funding and training for teachers, and maintaining rigorous academic standards.

Joining Governor Abbott were Representative Janie Lopez, Edinburg Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Diaz, Mandy Drogin from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Harvest Christian Academy Head Principal Joe Cruz, Elementary Principal Joshua Andrade, among other proponents of school choice.

In his State of the State Address on Sunday prior to this event, Governor Abbott had already declared school choice as an urgent agenda item for this legislative period.