Last week, Agudath Israel of America, brought together leaders from Orthodox Jewish communities and schools across Texas to meet with Governor Greg Abbott to express gratitude and celebrate the passage of the state’s universal school choice program earlier this year.

The delegation, which traveled from Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, presented Governor Abbott with a “School Choice Champion” award in recognition of his steadfast leadership and commitment to expanding educational opportunities for all Texas families. In his remarks, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel’s national director of government affairs, stressed the paramount importance that education plays in the Orthodox Jewish community. The school leaders each reinforced this message by describing the recent growth of their schools and how impactful this legislation will be for the students and families that would want to attend their institutions.

In May, Governor Abbott signed the new Education Savings Account (ESA) program into law, a historic step finally enacting private school choice in Texas. With a $1 billion allocation, the state will provide parents with approximately $10,000 per student annually to cover a wide range of educational expenses, including private school tuition. Students with special needs may be eligible to receive up to $30,000 per year. If applications exceed available funding, priority will be given to low-income and special education students.

While in Austin, the group also met with legislators who were instrumental in advancing the bill, including the legislative director of Senate sponsor Senator Brandon Creighton, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee and Chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee; House sponsor Rep. Brad Buckley, Chairman of the House Public Education Committee and the House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment; and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.