Two Texas watchdog groups have published a report estimating that the state’s new voucher program could cost public schools nearly $300 million in state funding this year. The report, from Our Schools Our Democracy and Every Texan, was released Thursday.
This summer marked the start of the distribution of the first vouchers under the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which is now being used during the current school year. When students exit public school to enroll in private education or homeschooling through a TEFA voucher, they carry state funding with them.
The Funding Loss Breakdown
According to the report, at least 184 independent school districts stand to lose at least $227 million in state funding because students are taking vouchers. A further 549 districts are projected to lose an estimated $67 million.
The district stands to lose roughly $8,000 in state funding for each student who leaves public school, according to a conservative estimate. Data from the comptroller’s office indicates that 30% of those taking vouchers had previously attended public schools.
The program drew a large number of applicants, with more than 200,000 students applying for it. Its billion-dollar funding limit was surpassed by that turnout. Once the program awarded more than 120,000 vouchers, there were still another 100,000 students left on the waitlist.
The Houston Area Led the State
The voucher program saw Houston ISD lose 1,207 students on its own. Dallas ISD lost 807, while 450 students departed San Antonio ISD. In Austin ISD, the number was 301. And in Fort Worth ISD, where the Texas Education Agency has since taken control of the district, 576 students chose vouchers and left.
At least 700 school districts reported a student leaving public education through the voucher program. The Houston area topped the state in TEFA applications.
Abbott’s History With Vouchers
Gov. Greg Abbott pushed back on claims the program would pull funding from public schools when he spoke in 2022. He said, “If you like the public school your child is attending, it will still be fully funded.”
Abbott later made vouchers a signature issue in the 2024 Republican state legislative primaries, spending heavily to push out perceived opponents of the program.
The Comptroller’s Office Seeks More Money
No response came back to the request for comment sent by the comptroller’s office to the Texas Comptroller’s office, which oversees the program, has already asked the Legislature to consider doubling funding for the program to $2 billion. Houston Public Media’.
In September, Dee Carney, who serves as executive director for Our Schools Our Democracy, asked lawmakers to hold off on raising voucher funding until the public had a clearer sense of how it would affect them.
“Voucher supporters promised that public schools would not be harmed by the voucher program because it comes from a different pot of money,” Carney said. “But vouchers have a public school price tag. There is an impact on public schools whenever the child leaves and the revenue with them.”
The Cost of Losing Students
Districts lack the ability to handle major funding cuts fast, according to Carney, who cited fixed costs as the reason.
“A public school district can’t reduce expenses dollar for dollar when a student leaves with a voucher because many of those costs, such as transportation, utilities, insurance, teachers – those are fixed costs,” Carney said.
She noted that the money shortages could push districts into making serious reductions.
“Texas families, lawmakers, taxpayers need to know that choices may be lost to public schools,” Carney said. “Will they have to reduce teachers? Programs? Limit or eliminate extracurricular opportunities? Reduce student services, or close schools? What will be the response from districts who have a responsibility to their taxpayers to be efficient with dollars?”
The Report’s Key Numbers
- $300 million: total estimated loss to public schools
- $227 million: estimated loss to 184 independent districts
- $67 million: estimated loss to another 549 districts
- $8,000: conservative per-student funding loss estimate
- 200,000+ applicants: exceeded program’s billion-dollar funding capacity
- 120,000+ vouchers awarded
- 100,000 on waitlist
- 30%: share of voucher recipients previously enrolled in public schools
The Broader Picture
This study marks the initial examination of how the voucher program directly affects public schools in Texas. The findings suggest that funding reductions could hit smaller, rural districts especially hard.
The comptroller’s office has asked for more money. The report’s authors want the public to understand the consequences first.
The two sides are now waiting on the Legislature to decide.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither side here but supports smaller government generally, and would oppose any agency or office that writes its own authority beyond its legal bounds, whatever the funding loss at stake. The report raises real questions about how the TEFA program is working, and the comptroller’s office asking for a bigger pot of money is a move worth watching.
The paper’s core concern is power gathering in one place. The TEFA program hands money directly to parents rather than through schools, which changes who controls the funds. An agency writing its own authority — deciding how much funding to hand out, then asking the Legislature for more — is the kind of concentration the paper warns against. The report shows districts losing money, and the comptroller’s office’s request for a $2 billion cap is a sign of how quickly the program’s appetite grew.
The key question is whether the comptroller’s office is acting within its legal bounds when it asks for more funding. The paper wants the Legislature to look carefully at that request before agreeing. Districts are already facing fixed costs they cannot cut dollar for dollar when a student leaves, and the report’s authors are right to ask what choices families may lose as a result. The paper would want the Legislature to weigh the costs to public schools against the benefits before approving a larger pot of money.
Source material: “Voucher program could cost Texas schools close to $300 million in funding, new report shows,” Houston Public Media.
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