First voucher report raises more questions than it answers

The Texas Comptroller’s Office released its first annual demographic report on Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFAs) on August 1st, offering an early look at who is receiving taxpayer-funded private-school vouchers. Of roughly 274,000 applications, more than 248,000 students were deemed eligible, but only 85,344 accounts had been funded as of July 29, meaning the numbers are still preliminary and could change before the school year begins. 

The numbers also leave unanswered why tens of thousands of students who received awards have not moved forward. Analysis from Our Schools Our Democracy notes that only 85,344 accounts had been funded out of more than 122,000 awards, while about 15,000 students had reportedly already opted out by mid-July, potentially reflecting difficulties finding participating schools or perhaps less interest in the program than application totals suggest. 

The report emphasizes that 80% of funded participants come from households earning no more than 200% of the federal poverty level and nearly one-quarter have a qualifying disability. However, those figures don’t erase various serious concerns. Fewer than 30 (yes, thirty, about the size of one overcrowded classroom) students with disabilities had received the program’s maximum $30,000 award, despite repeated claims that vouchers would give students with disabilities access to services public schools supposedly couldn’t provide. Private schools, unlike public schools, also aren’t required to provide the same special education protections and services. 

The racial breakdown also shows that the program isn’t reflecting the students served by Texas public schools. About 41% of funded students are white, compared with 24% of public school students, while Hispanic students account for only 28% of voucher recipients despite making up 53% of public school enrollment. 

Most importantly, the report still doesn’t provide a complete answer to one of the central questions surrounding the $1 billion program: how many recipients were already attending private school or being home-schooled? Earlier state data showed that 57% of families invited to participate were already outside the public school system, making it increasingly likely that the first year of Texas’ voucher experiment will function less as an “escape” from public schools and more as a taxpayer subsidy for choices many families had already made. 

The Comptroller’s office plans to release updated figures before the next legislative session. Those updates must include clearer information about prior enrollment, actual award amounts, withdrawals, and to which vendors our public money is going. Texas taxpayers shouldn’t have to wait years for basic accountability, especially while neighborhood public schools face devastating deficits, staffing cuts, and countless campus closures.