Seniors from the Harmony School of Innovation-Katy Class of 2025 listen to the commencement keynote speaker during graduation ceremonies held May 22, 2025 at Houston Christian University in Houston, Texas.

Yang Hardeman, left, and Lalo Robles shout in agreement with speakers at the Youth Capitol Take Over at the Texas State Capitol on April 16, 2025. Around two hundred young people rallied outside the building as the State House of Representatives took up two school funding bills, House Bill and Senate Bill 2.

Texas Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, gavels following a vote for an amendment to House Bill 2, a proposed school funding bill, as the Texas House of Representatives discusses the bill, April 16, 2025.

Gov. Greg Abbott won his campaign to give taxpayer money to private schools. Now he's promising to starve public schools of the funds they need to compete.

The governor promised to push through laws to make it almost impossible for school districts to raise taxes. In announcing his run for a record fourth term, he also said voters should have the power to reduce or eliminate school funding entirely.

Abbott is aligning himself with the most reactionary members of his Republican Party. For decades, fringe conservatives have wanted to end government-run schools and send every child to private institutions run by clerics or ideologues under the banner of parental choice.

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