Texas Democrats won the races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general on November 3 and took the Texas House. Republicans kept the state Senate. That split will shape what happens to the voucher, Ten Commandments, and state takeover policies Republicans put in place since 2023.
Democrat Gina Hinojosa, a former Austin ISD school board president, defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, who conceded on election night. Democrat Vikki Goodwin unseated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Democrat Nathan Johnson declared victory over Republican Mayes Middleton for attorney general, an office a Democrat will lead for the first time since 1994. "We are taking our children's education back from a government that has failed them," Hinojosa said in her victory speech.
In the 150-member Texas House, the Associated Press projected on November 4 that Democrats would win 76 seats, enough for a narrow majority, with 13 races uncalled. If unofficial results hold, Democrats will have 83 seats to Republicans' 67, according to The Texas Tribune. It is the first Democratic House majority since Republicans took over after the 2002 election. In the 31-member Senate, Republicans kept a 19 to 12 majority, according to AP projections. Every bill that changes school law has to pass that chamber, and the Senate must confirm a governor's pick for education commissioner.
"Texas stands as long as the Texas Senate Republican caucus holds the line," state Sen. Charles Schwertner, a Georgetown Republican, posted on X.
The State Board of Education may flip too. Nine of its 15 seats were on the ballot, and Republicans held an 11 to 4 edge going in. Not counting one undecided race, the parties split the board 7 to 7. In Houston-area District 8, Democrat Dana Van de Walker led Republican incumbent Audrey Young by 564 votes out of almost 600,000, according to unofficial Texas Secretary of State results reported by The Texan. Young had not conceded as of November 5. If the lead holds, Democrats would have their first board majority since 1994.
Texas had 9,624 operating public schools with 5,545,640 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to allk12's analysis of federal data. Charter schools made up 1,098 of them (11.4%) and enrolled 489,326 students (8.8%). Texas public schools include Houston ISD, which the state took over in 2023, with 274 schools and 176,727 students.
What changes in Washington
The AP called both chambers of Congress for Democrats. As of 10 a.m. Eastern on November 6, Democrats held 253 House seats to Republicans' 157, with 25 races uncalled, according to Yahoo News' running count; 218 is a majority. Democrats held 54 Senate seats to Republicans' 44, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate.
The new Congress, seated in January, inherits three Trump administration moves on schools. In March 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the education secretary to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education" as far as the law allows. In November 2025, the U.S. Department of Education signed agreements giving the Labor Department a bigger role in running federal K-12 programs. The 2025 budget law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, created a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 a year for donations to scholarship-granting organizations, starting in January 2027 in states that opt in. Abbott announced on December 10, 2025, that Texas intends to opt in.
Repealing the tax credit or undoing the department's restructuring by law would take a bill Trump signs, or a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override his veto. Chalkbeat reported that Democrats are likely to hold oversight hearings on the department's cuts. "Everything really hinges on Congress' ability to do its job and making sure that money that is allocated actually gets out there," said Constance Lindsay, an education professor at the University of North Carolina.
Where Texas' school laws stand
| Policy | What it does | Status as of November 6, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Senate Bill 2 (signed May 3, 2025) | Education savings accounts, capped at $1 billion for 2025-27: about $10,500 for private school, $2,000 for home school, up to $30,000 for students with disabilities | First year (2026-27): 111,295 funded participants, 95,389 waitlisted as of October 29 |
| Senate Bill 10 (signed June 20, 2025) | Ten Commandments poster, at least 16 by 20 inches, in every classroom | Upheld by the full Fifth Circuit April 21, 2026; Supreme Court petition (No. 26-257) pending |
| Senate Bill 11 (signed June 20, 2025) | Every school board had to vote on adopting a prayer and Bible reading period | In effect; each board decides |
| Senate Bill 12 (signed June 20, 2025) | Limits diversity, equity, and inclusion duties and certain student clubs | Challenged parts blocked only in Houston, Katy, and Plano ISDs since February 20, 2026 |
| Bluebonnet Learning (November 2024) and 2026 reading list | Optional K-5 lessons with Bible stories; required reading list with Bible stories | Bluebonnet approved 8-7; reading list approved 9-4 in June 2026, starts 2030-31 |
| Houston ISD takeover (June 1, 2023) | State-appointed board of managers replaced elected trustees | Extended to June 1, 2027 |
Sources: Texas Legislature Online bill histories and enrolled text; Texas Comptroller dashboard via Texas Policy Research; U.S. Supreme Court docket; ACLU of Texas; Associated Press; The Texas Tribune; Texas Education Agency.
The voucher program's 111,295 participants equal about 2 for every 100 Texas public school students (111,295 divided by 5,545,640). Only about 17% attended public school in 2024-25, the Tribune reported. Hinojosa can't repeal Senate Bill 2 alone, but she could veto new voucher bills or use her line-item veto to strike voucher money from the next state budget. Overriding a veto takes two-thirds of both chambers. "We cannot afford to take $4 billion to give to this unaccountable voucher scam, so I will block that," Hinojosa said at a September press conference.
Comptroller Don Huffines, who runs the program, had asked lawmakers to double its funding to more than $2 billion. He lost to Democrat Sarah Eckhardt, who has said she wants to audit it. State Rep. Christina Morales, who chairs House Democrats' campaign arm, said repealing vouchers is an early priority for the new majority. Fewer than 30 students with disabilities received the full $30,000 award, comptroller officials said.
The religion laws now sit mostly with the courts. The full Fifth Circuit upheld Senate Bill 10 and lifted the injunction in Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, according to the ACLU of Texas, which represents families in the case. They asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear it on August 17, and the response is due November 10, the court's docket shows. A hearing on the state's motion to dismiss the Senate Bill 12 case was set for November 2.
The state board approved Bluebonnet Learning 8-7 in November 2024 and offered districts $60 per student to use it, the AP reported. In June 2026, it voted 9-4 to require a reading list with Bible stories starting in 2030-31. New members take their seats at the January 25 to 29 meeting, and Hinojosa can name a chair, with Senate approval.
Hinojosa has pledged to fire Education Commissioner Mike Morath, whose term ends in January, and to end state takeovers. State law requires a takeover or a school closure after five straight unacceptable ratings, so ending takeovers needs the Legislature. A new commissioner could replace Houston ISD's appointed managers and set the date elected trustees begin returning, according to the Tribune. More districts are one failing grade away from a takeover.
Hinojosa takes office in January, the same month the Legislature convenes. Lawmakers can start filing bills for that session as soon as next week, according to the Tribune.
Sources
CBS News Texas: Texas midterm election results, live updates
CBS News Texas: Did Texas turn blue in the 2026 midterms? A closer look at who controls the state Legislature
Associated Press via PBS NewsHour: Democrats win full control of more state governments and the Texas House
Associated Press via Spectrum News: Democrats win control of Senate, House
Yahoo News: Midterms 2026 election results and latest updates
The Texas Tribune: Democrats flip Texas House
The Texas Tribune: Democrat Gina Hinojosa topples Greg Abbott
The Texas Tribune: How schools could change for millions of students
The Texas Tribune: Texas Dems celebrate flipping State Board of Education, brace for potential recount
The Texan: State Board of Education poised to flip Democratic, eight to seven
The Texas Tribune: Which families are using ESAs?
Texas Policy Research: New Texas school choice dashboard shows demand ahead of session
Texas Legislature Online: SB 2, 89th Legislature
Texas Legislature Online: SB 10, 89th Legislature
Texas Legislature Online: SB 11, 89th Legislature
Texas Legislature Online: SB 12, 89th Legislature
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, No. 25-50695
Supreme Court of the United States: Docket No. 26-257
ACLU of Texas: Legal challenges to Texas' Ten Commandments law, SB 10
ACLU of Texas: GSA Network v. Morath
Associated Press via The Spokesman-Review: Texas education officials approve Bible-based lessons for K-5 schools
The Texas Tribune: Mandated Bible stories in reading lists, revamped history approved
Texas Education Agency: TEA announces extension of Houston ISD intervention
The White House: Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities
U.S. Department of Education: Six new agency partnerships
Office of the Texas Governor: Texas' intent to opt in to federal school choice tax credit program
Chalkbeat: What Democratic wins in the 2026 midterms mean for schools
School counts from allk12's analysis of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2024-25.
