Texas Democrats, after winning statewide offices in the Nov. 5 election, pledged to restrict or end the school voucher program launched in 2025. Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said she would fire Education Commissioner Mike Morath and erase vouchers. Rep. Diego Bernal said the program would likely become "unrecognizable, if not extinct."
Where
Statewide
When
Nov. 5, 2026
Sources
Reported by 2 outlets
Taxes and money
The sources don't state an effect on taxes. They do state these figures.
School voucher program funding$1 billion2Who pays or receives it: Texas state
Who's involved
Gina HinojosaTexas governor-elect
Diego BernalTexas state representative, Democratic vice chair of House education committee
Sarah EckhardtDemocrat, former state senator, will lead state office running voucher program
Mike MorathTexas Education Commissioner
Greg AbbottTexas governor
The facts
Texas school voucher program allowed roughly 110,000 of 5+ million schoolchildren to access private education using taxpayer dollars.12Stated by 2 sources
Gov. Abbott signed a bill in May 2025 creating a $1 billion school voucher program.2
Texas State Board of Education passed a social studies curriculum requiring Bible story teaching.12Stated by 2 sources
Democrats won back the Texas House for the first time in 24 years; Republicans retained Senate majority.1
Sarah Eckhardt, who voted against vouchers, will lead the state office running the voucher program.1
Eckhardt said any big voucher program overhaul must come from lawmakers.1
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
Gina Hinojosa We will work tirelessly to repair the damage of the Texas voucher scam.1
Diego Bernal Program will be probably unrecognizable, if not extinct, by the time we're done with it.12
Diego Bernal Some Republican colleagues privately told him they had reservations about the voucher program.12
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
Texas’ school voucher program could be “unrecognizable, if not extinct,” says Democratic lawmaker
These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.
Appointed school board managers in eight Texas school districts under state takeover said they are preparing to leave office after Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa takes office on January 19. Hinojosa campaigned to end state takeovers and replace Education Commissioner Mike Morath with an educator.
Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect; Mike Morath, Texas Education Agency Commissioner; Ric Campo, Houston ISD board of managers president and 3 more
Stephanie Okechukwu, a 7-foot-1 center from Nigeria, made her collegiate debut for Texas Tech women's basketball on November 5, 2026, after the NCAA granted her four years of eligibility. She is the tallest player in women's college basketball history.
Stephanie Okechukwu, 7-foot-1 women's basketball center; Erik DeRoo, Texas Tech associate coach and general manager; Krista Gerlich, Texas Tech women's basketball head coach
In election results Tuesday, Democrats won enough seats to break a Republican supermajority on the Texas State Board of Education. Democrat Dana Van De Walker defeated Republican incumbent Audrey Young for District 8 by about 500 votes, giving Democrats control of the board for the first time in recent cycles.
$$3 million for additional funding for curriculum implementation
Dana Van De Walker, Democratic candidate for State Board of Education District 8; Audrey Young, Republican incumbent for State Board of Education District 8; Brandon Hall, Republican State Board of Education member, term ends 2029 and 3 more
The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Executive Board ruled on November 3 that Argyle Liberty Christian violated transfer eligibility rules. The decision removes the Warriors from the 2026 TAPPS Division I playoff bracket and forces them to forfeit games. The school disputes the ruling and is considering legal action.
TAPPS Executive Board, Issued eligibility ruling; Argyle Liberty Christian, School removed from playoffs; Michelle Witten, Parent who rejected the ruling and 1 more
Voters in Lubbock-Cooper Independent School District rejected a voter-approval property tax rate increase on November 4, 2026. The district had sought to increase the maintenance and operations portion of its property tax rate beyond state law limits, requiring voter approval.
$Supporters said if the proposition did not pass, the district will face staffing reductions, larger class sizes and cuts to student programs and services. [2]
Lubbock-Cooper ISD Board of Trustees, Approved the property tax rate and budget in August; Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Supported Proposition A
A low-pressure system moving from Mexico is expected to bring heavy rain and flash flooding threat to parts of Texas from Saturday through Monday, with the greatest flood risk on Sunday across South Texas and Hill Country.
Two of three Harris County Appraisal District board races did not produce a winner on election day and will go to runoff. Place 1 was won outright by Beverly Barrett.
$$4 million or more for estimated runoff cost
Beverly Barrett, Won HCAD Place 1 race; Claudio Gutierrez, Candidate for HCAD Place 2 heading to runoff; Jourdyn Wilson, Candidate for HCAD Place 2 heading to runoff and 5 more
After more than a year of complaints from county election officials, Texas state officials acknowledged the voter registration management system called TEAM has not met performance expectations. The state announced it will conduct an independent audit of the system and create working groups with county officials to improve its function.
Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden, State official announcing audit and working groups; Christina Adkins, Secretary of state's elections division director; Kristin Miles, President of Texas Association of County Election Officials and elections administrator in Bastrop County and 1 more