Gov.-Elect Gina Hinojosa Wants to Shutter the School Voucher Plan — but the Path Runs Through the Legislature
About 110,000 Texas students are using the $1 billion voucher program, and ending it is not something a governor can do alone, a new analysis finds — the funding decision belongs to lawmakers, with the comptroller-elect's office auditing the program.
AUSTIN — Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa has been outspoken about ending Texas's school voucher plan, but the governor alone cannot do that, according to a T-SPAN analysis published Tuesday: the path forward runs through the Legislature, which decides whether to continue funding the program, and at what level.
The program, backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, is now a year old, and around 110,000 Texas students started using school vouchers under it, the analysis reported. The voucher fund itself is $1 billion, and it will come under new oversight when Comptroller-elect Sarah Eckhardt takes office.
A spokesperson for Eckhardt said the Comptroller's office does not have the authority to make or change the law, that it will be up to the Legislature whether to continue funding the program, and that the comptroller-elect is committed to following the law, providing information about the program as required, and conducting a thorough audit to ensure maximal transparency, according to the report.
The analysis noted the levers a governor does hold: Hinojosa can veto a specific line item in the budget without vetoing the entire budget, or call a special session specifically on eliminating vouchers. Her stated first order of business, the report added, is firing Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. The 90th Legislature convenes January 12, 2027, and bill filing for the session opened Monday.
