Gov. Greg Abbott announced his intent to call a special session for the Texas legislature aimed at passing a monumental school choice bill, which failed in May due to a number of Republicans' opposition. Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, called out these legislative members for not supporting parents' rights.

"Our political operation won 76% of the more than 370 state races last year, including defeating 40 Republican incumbents," Schultz said. "The remaining holdouts – like the ones just endorsed by the teachers unions in Texas – should fear a scaled-up effort in the primaries by our new AFC Victory Fund Super PAC. Parents are becoming single issue voters around their child's education as the special interests that control our K-12 system have radicalized our kids for their political agenda. Republicans standing with these special interests should expect to lose their seat in the Republican primary next year."

Abbott will convene a special session to push a bill on Education Savings Accounts, which was blocked by a coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans earlier this year. Abbott is determined to pass the school choice bill.

"We will take it either way — in a special session or after an election," he said, emphasizing his dedication to the issue, according to the Texas Tribune.

Throughout the regular legislative session, Abbott embarked on a statewide tour, vowing to deliver a significant school choice victory for Texas voters, according to the Lone Star Standard Editorial Board. On social media, Abbott passionately championed the cause, emphasizing the importance of empowering parents to select the best educational path for their children, portraying school choice as a civil rights issue and asserting that the time for school choice in Texas had arrived. Senate Bill 8, led by Sen. Brandon Creighton, would "let parents unenroll in the assigned public school or charter school for their child and gain $8,000 to pay for education expenses, such as tuition at their school of choice." The bill was blocked and left pending in committee.

"Parents are becoming single-issue voters around their child’s education as the special interests that control our K-12 system have radicalized our kids for their political agenda. Republicans standing with these special interests should expect to lose their seat in the Republican primary next year,” Schultz said. 

School choice has gained significant momentum in recent years with support from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida, Gov. Kim Reynolds in Iowa, Gov. Spencer Cox in Utah and Gov. Sarah Sanders in Arkansas. Despite support from the state GOP's platform, a significant number of Republican House members opposed a crucial amendment to fund any school voucher program, including ESAs, the Lone Star Standard Editorial Board reported.

In May, Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Robstown) introduced an amendment to block the allocation of state funds for school voucher programs, including ESAs. This amendment garnered support from 24 Republican members and nearly all the Democrats in the House. Of those 24 Republicans, five were endorsed (Bailes, Shine, Darby, Geren and Price) in their campaigns by the American Federation of Teachers, one of the main opponents to the governor's proposed school choice legislation. The other house Republicans who supported the Herrero amendment that Abbott would need to persuade to pass legislation are Allison, Ashby, K. Bell, Burns, Clardy, Dean, Holland, Kacal, K. King, Kuempel, Lambert, Landgraf, Murr, Orr, Raney, Rogers, R. Smith, Spiller and VanDeaver. 

"Education freedom has been a decisively winning issue, especially in the last three years," Schultz said.

School choice is a "fundamental right" and they "want to give every child the opportunity to have his or her education needs met," according to the American Federation for Children (AFC). AFC indicates independent research overwhelmingly supports the necessity and advantages of school choice. Numerous credible studies demonstrate that school choice programs enhance academic performance, benefit both program participants and public school students, lead to cost savings for taxpayers and decrease racial segregation. 

In May, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board commented on the issue: "The anti-choice logic also fails to consider that ESA programs could foster a better supply of schools in coming years. Why not advocate more schools in rural areas, rather than holding back choice for everyone else across the state?"