Gov. Greg Abbott plans to call another special session on school choice, likely in October, following Ken Paxton's impeachment trial.
Austin Prochko, a former teacher now with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, says he's looking forward to major reform that will "empower parents."
"Parents are able to use those education savings accounts on private tuition, homeschooling curriculum, stuff like that. But it's also going to be looking at reforming some of our virtual ed policies, our open enrollment policies here in Texas."
Prochko says there's no more denying three-plus decades of data on school choice.
"Parental choice and empowering parents to make education choices that are both best for them and their family improves both the public education system as we can see in Arizona and Florida and some of the other states that have passed it, and it improves individual opportunity as well," he argues.
He says most parents will likely stick with their local public schools, increasing demand for qualified teachers and forcing districts to maintain a high-level.
"Because they had an option that they chose not to utilize, they've made a choice, so they're more engaged," Prochko says. "That's part of why we see, in states that have passed parental choice, an uptick in public education achievement as well."
However, some question how willing lawmakers will be to work together after the recent fight over property taxes.
Photo: Stone RF