State chief financial officer Don Huffines has asked lawmakers to expand the private school voucher program by a factor of two, pushing its budget to $2 billion. His request arrives amid a backlog that affects more than 100,000 students who are still waiting to receive Texas Education Freedom Account funding, also referred to as TEFA.
More than 270,000 applications came in during the program’s first year, with 248,000 judged eligible — well above what the effort could handle. Officials say they will lay out the next round of applications within the coming weeks.
The Waitlist Numbers
“This is the longest school choice waitlist in the country,” Travis Pillow, a spokesperson for the program, said at a legislative hearing Wednesday morning. “The comptroller’s office hears constantly from Texas families who are eager to apply when the opportunity becomes available.”
Pillow said the program needs another $980 million to clear the existing waitlist, plus $82 million for newly eligible siblings of students already enrolled. That would stack on top of the $1 billion the legislature allocated last year.
Who Gets the Money
Supporters argue the initiative assists families with modest means in finding other educational choices beyond their neighborhood public schools. According to figures from the comptroller’s office, roughly 70% of those receiving funds had already been attending private school or being home schooled before joining the program.
Up to 4,000 eligible students could move from home school vouchers, which are valued at around $2,000, to private school vouchers worth roughly $10,000. Those program leaders are seeking additional money to manage that transition.
They are also getting ready for shifts in special education funding and any increase in statewide per-student funding. Vouchers cover 85% of the money set aside per student in the public education system.
Critics Want Proof First
During the hearing, a number of critics made the case that lawmakers should not move forward with expansion until they have seen more evidence.
An independent watchdog group called the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency is led by Dee Carney, its director. She asked lawmakers to demand a full examination of the program. Her point was that the comptroller’s request failed to include funding for such an assessment, even though state law calls for it.
“Before committing billions more, legislators and Texans need to know whether TEFA is delivering on the promises made to taxpayers this school year, not in five years,” Carney said. “Legislators need to look beyond the waitlist and understand who the TEFA voucher program is serving.”
Special Education Concerns
There is no requirement at either the state or federal level for private schools to take on students with disabilities or make needed changes for them. For children who need special education, a voucher worth up to $30,000 can help pay for extra services, though there is hardly any organized supervision to confirm that these expensive services are actually provided.
Disability Rights Texans’ policy specialist Steven Aleman delivered remarks opposing the move.
“It’s not really congruent with what we are learning,” Aleman said. “There is still a lot of need for data and exploration and examination of the data, but from what we are hearing anecdotally from families is they are struggling to find private schools that will accept them, let alone provide special education services or even accommodations.”
Some families have returned their TEFA account money because they could not locate appropriate resources for their children with disabilities, Aleman said.
There is an anticipated increase in special education applications for the program. The request includes over $200 million to cover the roughly 15,000 students taking part who are expected to submit new special education documentation for their disabilities next year. At present, only about 7,000 of those students enrolled in private schools hold documentation showing they have a disability.
Previously, the comptroller’s office has said it will look into worries from parents who think their child is not getting the help they need by law.
The Program’s Own Case
Pillow defended the program’s early record.
“The results so far speak for themselves,” he said. “TEFA is the largest and most successful year-one school choice program in U.S. history and already the second largest education savings account.”
Cost Projections
Within a handful of years, funding for the voucher program could swell past $4 billion.
Our Schools Our Democracy’s executive director, Carrie Griffiths, cautioned that linked management expenses might rise into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
| Funding Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Existing allocation | $1 billion |
| Waitlist expansion | $980 million |
| Sibling coverage | $82 million |
| Special education documentation | $200+ million |
Officials from the comptroller’s office say they will be announcing the new application window for vouchers within the next few weeks.
Source: houstonpublicmedia.org
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