As the 2026 Texas governor’s race takes shape, voters are becoming divided on where incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott stands on school vouchers.
On the campaign trail, Abbott has touted he created the first universal school choice program in Texas, investing $1 billion for “Education Freedom Accounts” — making it the largest statewide program of its kind in U.S. history.
The voucher program would provide Texas families with $10,000 to select alternative schools for their children outside of the traditional public school system.
While detractors contend it takes money away from the state’s education system, Abbott also noted the previous legislative session invested a record $8.5 billion in new funding for public education and provided over $4 billion for increasing teacher and support staff salaries.
While the Abbott campaign calls vouchers a win for school choice, he also noted many Texans will opt to stay in the public school system.
According to the program overview, the TEFA program, administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, is the largest school choice initiative in the nation.
Through this program, parents who choose to enroll their children outside of the public school system – including a private school or homeschool — and are accepted into the program can use their child’s TEFA funds to pay for approved education-related expenses through the program marketplace.
Gina Hinojosa decries vouchers as a ‘corruption tax’
The Democratic candidate takes aim at any voucher program as a means of draining funds from Texas schools.
“Every child deserves a strong neighborhood public school, but Greg Abbott’s elite donors want to suck the money out of them to turn a profit,” she said on her campaign website. “They would turn off Friday night lights to make an extra buck. Greg Abbott’s voucher scam is set to drain billions of taxpayer dollars from our schools and Teacher Retirement System to fund private education for the wealthy few.”
In her launch video, she contrasted her efforts to bolster public school funding with Abbott’s pursuit of vouchers, which she argued would “devastate our schools.” She also criticized the governor for accepting $10 million in campaign donations from Pennsylvania GOP megadonor Jeff Yass, one of the nation’s leading voucher proponents.
“Abbott’s corruption runs deep. The billionaires he works for will not stop until they get what they want,” Hinojosa said. “As long as we have a governor that can be bought, we won’t have the Texas we deserve.”
Important dates for 2026 Texas election
The last day to register to vote for the General Election is Oct. 5, either online, by mail, or in person.
Early voting starts Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30. The absentee ballot request deadline is Oct. 23, by mail or Oct. 19, in person. The absentee ballot return deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 3, by mail or in person on Election Day.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day in Texas.
Kristian Jaime is the Top Story Reporter for the El Paso Times and is reachable at Kjaime@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Gov. Greg Abbott, Gina Hinojosa on education in Texas governor’s race
Reporting by Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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