Gov. Greg Abbott has signed the $1 billion controversial school choice bill into law, allowing for taxpayer money to be used to help qualifying students pay for private school tuition. "Today is the culmination of a movement that has swept across the state and our country," Abbott said Saturday.

Republican lawmakers and supporters say it will let parents pull their children out of poor-performing public schools.

A crowd outside the governors mansion in Austin cheered on May 3 as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed school vouchers into law. “Gone are the days that families are limited to only the school assigned by the government,” Abbott said, flanked by state lawmakers and supporters of “school choice.”