Texas House passes school choice after years of pressure from AIM, voters, activists

The Texas House has passed school choice legislation, marking a major victory for families—and for everyone who’s worked to make this happen.

This win didn’t come overnight. Accuracy in Media, alongside dedicated allies and supporters, has spent years exposing misconduct in public schools and pushing lawmakers to act. Now, with school choice poised to become law, the lesson is clear: when politicians fear the voters, real change happens.

Politicians should represent the people who elect them—but too often, they don’t. That’s why AIM partnered with education advocates including Riley Gaines to turn up the pressure. Our investigations revealed that school districts like Coppell ISD were violating Texas law by continuing to teach banned material. Those reports led directly to legal action by the Texas Attorney General.

But investigations alone weren’t enough. The turning point came when school choice opponents in the legislature began losing their seats. A year ago, school choice nearly passed but failed due to a handful of holdouts. So we got to work.

We helped mount primary challenges against lawmakers who ignored the will of their constituents—legislators like Rep. Gary VanDeaver, who barely survived re-election. His close call sent a loud message to the rest of the House: oppose school choice, and risk your seat.

This is how democracy works when voters are organized and motivated. When politicians realize their careers are on the line, they listen.

Passing school choice in Texas proves what AIM has long argued: with enough determination, voters can force accountability and bring meaningful reform to public education.

The fight isn’t over, but this is a turning point. And it shows that making the political class fear the people—not the other way around—is the key to winning.