In a move that surprised absolutely no one who has seen a Texas public school bathroom lately, Governor Greg Abbott is taking a victory lap because over 100,000 families signed up for the new “Texas Education Freedom Account” (TEFA) program in just two weeks. Apparently, the “largest launch of a school choice program in history” is cause for celebration, rather than a glaring red flag that the current system is held together by thoughts, prayers, and Scotch tape.
The program, birthed by Senate Bill 2, tosses $1 billion into a pot so parents can “direct funding” toward preapproved private providers. Because nothing says “Texas Pride” like taking tax dollars meant for the community and handing them over to private entities that don’t have to follow the same rules. It’s the educational equivalent of the state admitting the plumbing is leaking and offering you a coupon for a bucket instead of fixing the pipes.
Abbott claims this proves families “overwhelmingly want school choice.” And he’s right—who wouldn’t want a piece of that $1 billion to cover tuition or transportation to a school that actually has textbooks from this millennium? The program is open to any U.S. citizen living in Texas, and applications are being accepted through March 17th. It’s not first-come, first-served, so there’s still plenty of time for the rest of the state to realize that the life raft is limited and the ship is still sinking.
So, while the Governor celebrates “flexibility” and “academic success regardless of income,” the rest of us get to watch the slow-motion dismantling of the public school system from our front-row seats in Lubbock. It’s truly a Texas miracle: we’ve finally found a way to make “leaving” the most popular extracurricular activity in the state.
If 100,000 people try to jump out of a plane at the same time, do you celebrate the “record-breaking demand” for parachutes, or do you start wondering what’s wrong with the engine?
https://www.kcbd.com/2026/02/16/governor-abbott-celebrates-record-breaking-school-choice-demand/