SAN ANTONIO – The Archdiocese of San Antonio has announced it will include all of its Catholic schools in the state’s new Education Savings Account program, informally known as school vouchers.
The controversial state law will allow students to receive $10,000 for private school tuition or up to $2,000 for homeschooled students.
Private schools are able to opt in or opt out of the program.
“I think people don’t realize, they assume, ‘Oh, I can use it at a private school.’ But it has to be a private that has agreed to accept ESA funds,” said Inga Cotton, School Discovery Network founder and executive director.
WATCH BELOW: School Discovery Network founder discusses Education Savings Account program
School Discovery Network educates parents about types of schools in the area and helps them choose the ones that are right for their children.
Cotton has become an expert on the Education Savings Account program and said not just any private school can join.
“There’s certain requirements, like they have to be open for at least two years,” she said. “They have to be an accredited program. They have to agree to administer some type of standardized test. It doesn’t have to be STAAR. It could be a different test.”
Cotton said many private schools tell her they’re still on the fence about opting in.
“They don’t know enough about the program,” Cotton said. “They’re concerned about overhead. They’re concern about maintaining their freedom to teach what they want to teach. They’re concerning about whether they can serve kids with special education, which they are not required to do.”
On Tuesday, the Archdiocese sent KSAT the following statement:
“Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio are strongly promoting and participating in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which provides funds for tuition at Catholic schools. Across the archdiocese, schools are preparing to welcome many new families through the launch of this effort. These institutions are courageously meeting new challenges with confidence, eagerly planning for growth. Recently passed legislation was the result of hard work from many people through the years, who have been consistently advocating to give parents a true choice in education for their children. Those interested in learning more can find additional information at sacatholicschools.org.”
Cotton said the announcement is a big deal because of cost.
“Catholic schools are some of the most affordable private schools in our region. So many of them, the annual tuition is already below what the ESA will cover. It makes it more affordable for families,” she said.
Cotton said if each student gets around $10,000, and tuition only costs around $8,000, that extra $2,000 can then be used for things like uniforms, school meals and transportation. It can even be rolled over into next year’s tuition.
Additionally, the comptroller’s office announced it will open the official ESA portal to families in January 2026.
“Families should be able to log in, create an account, apply, look at the handbook, look at the list of providers,” Cotton said.
Cotton said the time to research options is now, so when the portal opens, families can be ready.
The School Discovery Network is holding one of its School Discovery Days on Saturday, Oct. 18, where more than 40 schools will be available to speak with families, including public, charter and private schools.
The event is at the San Antonio Zoo from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Anyone going to the event gets free admission to the zoo. Registration is open on the School Discovery Network website.
Related coverage on KSAT.com:
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.