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Steven Howk (right) talks with his son Haruki Howk, 14, as his wife Colleen Howk and daughter Yua Howk, 12, sit on a couch together in their home on July 31, 2026, in Hurst.<\/p>\n
Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
With wide eyes, Colleen and Steven\u00a0Howk took in the courtyard lined with picnic tables, the skyscrapers hovering in the distance.<\/p>\n
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This was where the school held its dances. And over there, the gleaming playground. Here, they believed, attentive teachers could help Yua, 12, and Haruki, 14, thrive.<\/p>\n
Related: Less than a third of North Texas applicants received a school voucher<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Sending their kids with Down Syndrome to a private special needs school<\/a> always seemed out of reach. But when the Howks were approved for school vouchers, attending the Notre Dame School of Dallas<\/a> became a real possibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s shiny. It\u2019s sparkly,\u201d Colleen said. \u201cWhen people go to college, they have their \u2018reach school.\u2019 It felt like a \u2018reach school.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was wanting it really hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But would the school accept them?<\/p>\n As the inaugural year of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts<\/a> begins, North Texas families are preparing to leave their public school<\/a>. They\u2019re grateful to exit a system they say isn\u2019t working for them. But finding a private school hasn\u2019t been easy, requiring some to weather disappointment and scramble to cover additional costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At the heart of the school choice debate, lies a contentious question: Will school vouchers benefit students with special needs or leave them behind? Proponents say vouchers are a dissatisfied family\u2019s ticket out of public schools, but critics believe the program will leave promises unfulfilled for Texas\u2019 most vulnerable children. They worry private schools will deny admission, while those accepted will lose legal protections enshrined in public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Who benefits from school vouchers in Texas? Here’s what the data says<\/a><\/p>\n The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which runs TEFA, has awarded funding to nearly 110,000 students, as of June. Under the program, students with disabilities are eligible to receive $30,000, though the vast majority were awarded less than that<\/a>. If they are homeschooled, they are allotted $2,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tuition can get expensive<\/p>\n Danisha Nunn wanted a school that could accommodate the needs of Ezra, her 8-year-old son with autism, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. They visited Novus Academy, a Southlake school that seemed a good fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Then, she heard the cost. Her son was approved for a $16,000 voucher, but after the registration fee, the total came out to roughly $27,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a single mom, she said, \u201cthat was absolutely not feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n She chose Thrive Beyond Academy, a microschool <\/a>in Fort Worth, instead. Her two children will spend three days a week there, and the other two at home. She was drawn to its low teacher-student ratio. The owner promised her: \u201cWe\u2019re doing this together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the selling point for me,\u201d Nunn said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Ezra keeps nudging his mom about Novus Academy. Each time she reminds him, her chest tightens, and she tries to let him down easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just like, \u2018Aw, I want to go there. They like me there,\u2019\u201d Nunn said. \u201cI’m like, I’m sure you’ll have the same experience at this new school.\u201d<\/p>\n Haruki Howk, 14, and his sister Yua Howk, 12, play Jenga, a block-stacking, stack-crashing game at home in Hurst.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n At the start of the search, the Howks considered Green Oaks School, which was closer to home. During their visit, an employee promised it was \u201cthe closest to heaven on earth,\u201d sending the family\u2019s hearts soaring.\u00a0<\/p>\n But getting this close to heaven, they realized, came at a price they couldn\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n Last school year, the tuition was $15,900, but this year, it was raised to $23,000. The vouchers no longer covered the cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Colleen Howk tried her best to understand. The aging playground weighed on her mind. If vouchers could help her own kids, she thought, maybe they could help this school, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’ve been on campus, it’s clean, it’s friendly and homey,\u201d she said. \u201cBut you can see that they don’t have deep pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding a school that will say yes<\/p>\n Then, the Notre Dame School of Dallas came along. It\u2019s not easy to secure a spot at a special-needs private school. Nor are there many schools like this one, which tend to be concentrated in urban metro areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n At Notre Dame, it takes $27,000 to educate a child, but tuition is subsidized by donations, whittling the cost down to $13,500. The state awarded the Howks $16,895 for each child, leaving funds to spare.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n