Texas Board of Education

The proposal revives a failed effort from earlier this year and responds to years of legal fights over accountability.

The long-awaited vote survived objections from the panel's most right-leaning Republicans, who criticized the lessons as "un-American woke indoctrination."

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, even though a similar Louisiana law was deemed unconstitutional. Supporters say Christianity is core to U.S. history.

Advocates say the bills will give parents more power over their children's schools. Critics say they don't give parents anything they didn't already have and will only strain their relationship with teachers.

Senators will hold a hearing Thursday on their counterproposal to the House's school funding bill. House Democrats and public education advocates have criticized the upper chamber for not moving faster to advance the legislation.

During his full-throttle push to pass private school vouchers this legislative session, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott repeatedly claimed that funding for public schools "is at an all-time high." A TPR fact-check found that to be misleading, based on an analysis of state data and expert interviews.

The sweeping legislation creates Education Savings Accounts, which allow parents to use state tax dollars toward private education costs. With $1 billion in initial funding, Texas' program is the largest day 1 plan of its kind in the nation.

After hours of debate — and years of pushing from Gov. Greg Abbott — the Texas House gave initial approval to a bill to create an Education Savings Account plan. The school voucher program would allow parents to use public funds towards private school costs.

Some Texas legislators may be done questioning the merits of education savings accounts as it moves to a vote in the State House, but voters aren't. Model programs in other states are showing rural voters could stand to lose the most, and they're preparing to do the math on election day.

A Texas start-up says for districts still unable to put the legally mandated armed guard in every school, its drones could be an option.