WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Democratic governors will take office in Texas, Iowa and Georgia, bringing new executive power to long running state education battles.
  • Hinojosa has pledged to end Texas’s school choice program, while Republican lawmakers may act before she takes office.
  • Sand supports reforming Iowa’s school choice program while increasing public funding and expanding universal prekindergarten.
  • Bottoms has emphasized community college, prekindergarten, financial literacy and eliminating state income taxes for teachers.

Education policy in three historically red states is headed for a sharp turn after voters elected Democratic governors in Texas, Iowa and Georgia for the first time in decades. The victories bring long simmering disputes over school choice, classroom content and diversity, equity and inclusion back to the center of state politics.

Republicans have controlled the governors’ mansions in all three states for years, advancing policies that expanded school choice, restricted classroom books, removed university courses and added Bible lessons to elementary and secondary school curriculum. Democratic control of the executive offices now opens another chapter in those fights.

The incoming governors will not have unchecked power because they face divided statehouses and Republican lawmakers opposed to their plans. Still, governors can appoint state officials, veto legislation and influence legislative priorities, giving the Democratic education agenda some powerful tools.

In Texas, newly elected Democratic Gov. Gina Hinojosa has said little about diversity, equity and inclusion in classrooms. She has repeatedly attacked the state’s school choice program as a giveaway to private schools and pledged to “end the voucher scam.”

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Outgoing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, spent years pushing for government funded accounts that allow students to leave their local public schools. Republicans still control the Texas Senate, meaning Hinojosa cannot completely eliminate the program without legislative support.

Hinojosa will, however, have line item veto authority that could be used in an attempt to defund the program. That possibility could provoke a Republican response before she is even sworn into office.

Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said Abbott could summon lawmakers for a special session before leaving office “to protect school choice.”

“The current Republican Legislature can pass a bill in special session to move the program into the state school funding formula instead. That change would largely eliminate the ability to kill it with a line-item veto,” DeAngelis said.

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Hinojosa will also be able to appoint members to the Texas higher education oversight board. Her selections would still require approval from the Republican controlled Texas Senate, placing another potential education fight squarely in the legislative arena.

Her victory has nevertheless encouraged critics of recent Texas higher education policies. Teresa Klein, president of the American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers Texas Conference, said the election offered hope for students and faculty members.

“We’re hopeful because the folks who did get elected were folks who were very supportive of our students’ learning ability, our students’ learning, and I think this is going to be good for them,” Klein said. “We want to see academic freedom recognized and shared governance restored; those are things that we’ll be surely discussing with all the legislators.”

Iowa presents another battle over school choice and classroom materials. Liberals have objected to restrictions on LGBTQ books in schools and previously failed in court to overturn the state’s book ban.

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Newly elected Democratic Gov. Rob Sand campaigned on reforming Iowa’s universal school choice program rather than eliminating it. He also emphasized greater public education funding and universal prekindergarten, signaling that his approach differs from Hinojosa’s promise to end the Texas program.

Jorge Elorza, CEO of Democrats for Education Reform, said Democratic candidates in the three states did not follow the traditional party position against school choice. He said their concerns focused more on changing existing programs to reflect their priorities than abolishing private school choice entirely.

Georgia Republicans have concentrated on banning “divisive concepts” in classrooms and enacting a Parental Bill of Rights that allows parents to review instructional materials. Newly elected Democratic Gov. Keisha Lance Bottoms has largely avoided the school choice debate while emphasizing free universal community college, prekindergarten and expanded financial literacy.

Bottoms has also said she would support “eliminating state income taxes for teachers.” As Atlanta mayor in 2022, she told VOX ATL that limiting classroom discussions harmed students’ understanding of racial dynamics and could have consequences lasting across generations.

Weadé James, senior director for K-12 Education Policy at the Center for American Progress, said Bottoms could pursue more education funding and greater support for teachers. James said Georgia could consider higher teacher salaries or additional incentives designed to attract and retain teachers considered high quality or high impact.

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