Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is set to sign a sweeping school choice bill into law May 3, allocating $1 billion in taxpayer funds to a program supporting parents seeking alternatives to public education, including private and homeschooling options.

The signing ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin and will include Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, and Sen. Brandon Creighton, the bill’s lead sponsor, Fox 7 Austin reported. 

CatholicVote, longtime advocates of the legislation, will also send a delegation to witness the signing.

“This will be a big moment, not just for Texas but for the country,” CatholicVote’s delegate Tommy Valentine said. “Our second biggest state implementing school choice is a major milestone, and we hope it will pave the way for the federal school choice bill that’s been introduced in Congress.”

The new law, Senate Bill 2, creates an education savings account program that offers families up to $10,000 annually per student to cover private school tuition and related educational costs. Students with disabilities could receive as much as $30,000 per year. 

While the program will initially serve up to 90,000 students with a $1 billion budget, it could grow to nearly $4.5 billion by 2030, making it the largest school choice initiative in the country.

The bill has drawn strong support from Catholic leaders and organizations nationwide. CatholicVote officially endorsed Abbott’s school choice plan in January, backing the effort to give Texas families more control over their children’s education.

“Governor Greg Abbott is showing strong leadership by calling for school choice for so many families in Texas,” said CatholicVote Vice President Josh Mercer.

CatholicVote has also pointed to a growing national trend, noting that Texas joins a wave of states enacting school choice reforms in recent years.

“Governor Abbott, who is a Catholic, deserves a lot of credit for putting his political muscle and willpower behind this bill to ensure Texas families can choose what to do with their tax dollars,” Valentine added. 

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops also backed the bill, citing its strong protections for religious freedom and private school autonomy. 

NBC News reported that Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth, who plans to attend the signing, said he wouldn’t be surprised if the bill results in Catholic schools filling to capacity, now that more families will have access to opportunities they previously lacked.

“[The bill] offers parents an opportunity to exercise their right as parents to see to the education of their children,” Bishop Olson told NBC News. “Education really is one of the most primary human rights we have, because without education we can’t really form a sound community.”