In a year marked by sweeping changes to the American education landscape, two states have emerged at the forefront of the school choice movement—Texas and Nebraska—each launching ambitious new programs aimed at expanding educational opportunities for families. These moves, cheered by some as bold steps toward empowering parents and criticized by others as undermining public schools, are reshaping longstanding debates over how best to serve students across the country.
On October 1, 2025, the spotlight was on Austin, Texas, where eleven education providers from eight states received a combined $4 million through the inaugural Texas Yass Prize Education Freedom Award. The event, hosted by the Yass Prize leadership and the University of Austin, drew an influential crowd including Governor Greg Abbott, Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, UATX President Carlos Carvalho, State Representative Brad Buckley, and Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock. The award, named after Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass—who made headlines in 2023 with a record $6 million donation to Abbott’s campaign—signals a new era for school choice in the Lone Star State.
The timing of the award is no accident. This year, Texas passed its first-ever school choice Education Savings Account (ESA) program, a measure that provides roughly $10,000 in taxpayer-funded subsidies to about 100,000 primarily low-income students. Parents can use these funds to send their children to the school of their choice, including private and faith-based institutions. According to The Center Square, the ESA program is set to become fully operational in 2026 and is designed to give families, especially those with limited financial means, real options for their children’s education.
Governor Abbott, a strong proponent of the new initiative, declared, “Texas is leading the way in giving parents the freedom to choose the best education for their children. We expanded school choice, increased public school funding to record levels, and expanded career training programs across Texas. By empowering families with real opportunities through school choice, we will ensure students thrive and every child can access high-quality education that builds a brighter future for generations to come.”
The Texas Yass Prize Education Freedom Award was created specifically to accelerate the growth of new educational opportunities as the ESA program rolls out. Of the eleven awardees, six are organizations based outside Texas, now expanding their operations into cities like Brownsville, Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. These include Build UP of Birmingham, Alabama, which is launching in Brownsville; ASU Preparatory Academy from Phoenix, Arizona, which is opening ten microschools in Texas; Primer Microschools from Miami, Florida, planning up to ten campuses and thirty microschools; the Chicago-based Cristo Rey Network, expanding its Fort Worth campus; KaiPod Learning from Massachusetts, incubating at least fifty new microschools; and Partnership Schools of Cleveland, Ohio, which is growing its K-8 presence in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. RISE Hybrid Private Academy from Virginia is also offering both in-person and online learning options for homeschoolers in Texas.
The four Texas-based recipients reflect the diversity of the state’s educational needs: Cafe Momentum of Dallas, which provides culinary training for justice-involved youth; Families Empowered of Texas, supporting parents navigating the new school choice landscape; Leading Little Arrows of Arlington, helping homeschool parents and caregivers open new learning environments in Tyler and Whitehouse; and Neighborhood Schools of Houston, which is increasing enrollment at its preschools.
Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, which powers the Yass Prize, celebrated the development: “Texas has seized on the increasing parent power movement and these incredible education leaders will contribute to the already rich Texas education landscape in offering a variety of incredible learning opportunities for students. We can’t wait to work with them and see them flourish.”
The political undercurrents behind these changes are hard to ignore. Abbott’s campaign, buoyed by Yass’s historic donation, supported Republican candidates who challenged and largely defeated incumbent Texas House members opposed to school choice in the 2024 elections. The new Republican majority, led by Speaker Dustin Burrows, delivered on their promise to pass the ESA program, marking a clear victory for school choice advocates.
Meanwhile, Nebraska has made its own splash in the school choice arena. On September 27, 2025, Governor Jim Pillen announced that Nebraska would become the first state to opt into a new federal tax credit program for K-12 school choice scholarships. The program, part of the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill legislation, allows taxpayers to donate up to $1,700 to qualifying scholarship-granting organizations and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, starting in 2027. Families earning up to 300% of the area median income—in Nebraska, up to about $228,000—are eligible, and scholarships can be used for tuition, books, tutoring, and other approved educational expenses at public or private schools.
Pillen, speaking at St. Teresa Catholic School in Lincoln, framed the move as a win for families seeking more educational options: “As I’ve said forever, we’re never, ever going to give up on a kid anywhere. And we have to have great public schools. This Big, Beautiful Bill has the potential to help in all circumstances—certainly going to help our private schools immensely, but it can in our public schools as well.” He added, “We’ve got to get more than our fair share of federal dollars home. We got a billion to our healthcare, and we’re getting others for roads and so forth. This is gigantic for education.”
Yet the decision has not been without controversy. Stand For Schools, a Nebraska group opposed to private school choice, argued that the move flies in the face of the will of the voters. “Last year, Nebraskans made their voices heard loud and clear by rejecting private school vouchers at the ballot box,” said executive director Dunixi Guereca. “This decision ignores the will of Nebraska voters and the decades of research showing how to actually move the needle to improve outcomes in schools.”
Supporters counter that the new program will make a real difference for families. Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska said, “This scholarship program will give hope to countless kids across the state of Nebraska.” Representative Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, who sponsored the federal provision, emphasized, “Parents and families can be empowered, especially those in impoverished communities.”
The debate over school choice is far from settled. Proponents argue that these programs offer desperately needed alternatives for families trapped in underperforming public schools and inject healthy competition into the education system. Critics worry that diverting public funds to private schools undermines the public education system and may not deliver better outcomes for all students.
As Texas and Nebraska press ahead with their respective initiatives, the rest of the nation is watching closely. With billions of dollars, powerful political backers, and passionate advocates on all sides, the next few years could see even more states following suit—or doubling down on traditional public education. For now, one thing is clear: the school choice movement is gaining momentum, and the landscape of American education is changing, one state at a time.
