The Texas Policy Summit was recently held in Austin, where school choice was one of the main topics of discussion.

One type of school choice is Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), designed to give families more control over their children's education, according to EdChoice.

Using ESAs, parents can customize their child's learning experience, allowing parents to use the financial assistance provided on any qualifying educational expense, not only private or charter schools. It provides families with a personal account for educational expenses, such as tuition, tutoring, textbooks and online courses. These accounts are funded by the state, and families can use them to pay for a variety of educational services.

“The Texas Policy Summit was a huge success,” former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) tweeted on March 7. “We worked directly with the legislative leaders on issues that matter the most to our communities. In this legislative session, we are addressing educational freedom, school choice, cutting property taxes and border security.”

In a recent poll, 70% of Texans and 77% of parents of school-aged children support ESAs, The Heritage Foundation said, citing the Pew Research Center. Some of the counties with the most support for ESAs are rural Texas counties, such as Culberson, Edwards, Kent, Mullen, Kenedy, Roberts and Terrell.

In his State of the State address last month, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) specifically called for legislation to make ESAs available to all Texas students, making “education freedom an emergency item.”

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual Texas Policy Summit has been held for 20 years, and it attracts people such as legislators, activists, media and donors to discuss various political issues.

Flores hosted the Friday keynote panel during the lunch session of the Texas Policy Summit.