The state's voucher program launched this year and lets about 110,000 of Texas' more than 5 million schoolchildren use taxpayer dollars for private education. The Legislature passed the $1 billion program in 2025.
On Tuesday, Democrats won nearly every statewide office. Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, who defeated Abbott's bid for a fourth term, said in a speech that she would work to repair what she called the damage of the "Texas voucher scam." She also pledged to fire Education Commissioner Mike Morath and end the public school takeovers. Hinojosa did not respond to requests for an interview.
Eliminating the voucher program would require legislation. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat who will lead the state office that runs the program, said she will push for more accountability and transparency, and said any major overhaul must come from lawmakers. Democrats won back the Texas House for the first time in 24 years, while Republicans kept the Senate.
Rep. Diego Bernal, the Democratic vice chair of the House education committee, said he expects the program to be "unrecognizable, if not extinct" by the time lawmakers are finished with it.