Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday evening that a universal, school choice voucher program that gives parents public dollars to spend on private school tuition will help Texas lead the nation in education.

Gov. Greg Abbott said he's optimistic his plan to spend tax dollars to send some students to private school will make it through the Texas Legislature this year. On Wednesday, the Senate is widely expected to pass its version of a school choice bill,

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says universal school choice must be approved. He backs new public school funding for teacher pay raises.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he's optimistic his plan to spend tax dollars to send some students to private school will make it through the Texas Legislature this year.

Texans also heard from their fellow citizens as part of the Democratic Party’s response to Abbott’s speech, with state Democrats enlisting a public school educator, an OB/GYN, electricians’ union representative and the state’s Democratic chair to represent what the party hoped to project as the voice of everyday Texans.

The Texas governor is making school vouchers, teacher pay raises, and career training priorities this legislative session. This week, the Texas Senate will likely pass SB2 – the school voucher bill. There's also a plan in the Senate to allocate $5 billion to public schools for teacher pay raises.