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Students pledge allegiance during \u2018Parent Empowerment Night\u2019 at San Antonio Christian School in San Antonio. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Scott Stephen Ball<\/p>\nStudents pledge allegiance during \u2018Parent Empowerment Night\u2019 at San Antonio Christian School in San Antonio. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Scott Stephen Ball<\/p>\n
Texas\u2019 chief financial officer requested that lawmakers double the amount of money available for the state\u2019s private school voucher program, resulting in a total of more than $2 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the appropriations request for 2028\u201329 biennium, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines asked the Legislature to raise the program\u2019s base funding by $1 billion so more families can use taxpayer money to cover private school or home schooling costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year, the Legislature approved $1 billion for the rollout and the 2026-27 school year, the first of the program.<\/p>\n
Officials from the comptroller\u2019s office noted Thursday that the request was based on the number of current participants and students on the waitlist, as required by state law<\/a>.\u00a0 However, if the state also provided funding to those on the waitlist, that would bring the total to roughly $4 billion over the next two years.<\/p>\n Huffines requested an additional $226 million to accommodate funding increases for families currently participating in the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Comptroller\u2019s Office expects that the interest list will only grow larger as the state continues to promote the program and participating families communicate positive experiences to others in their communities,\u201d according to the request. \u201cThe state has a moral imperative to serve these children.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texas State Teachers Association on Thursday criticized the budget request, saying taxpayers need more information on who has signed up to receive voucher funding before raising the program\u2019s price tag.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recent state data<\/a> shows that 70% of families who joined or have pending invites to the program already attended a private school or home-school.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany school districts have been forced to close campuses or eliminate programs to tackle budget deficits,\u201d the association said in a statement. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to keep draining increasing amounts of tax dollars from these public schools to support religious and other private schools.\u201d<\/p>\n Legislators will tackle Texas\u2019 two-year budget when the next lawmaking session begins in January.<\/p>\n Participating families with a child in private school currently qualify for about $10,500 annually. Home-schoolers receive up to $2,000 per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Children with disabilities qualify for up to $30,000, an amount based on what it would cost to educate that student in a public school. However, fewer than 30 students have received the full amount.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly 110,000 students have received funding so far, while more than 106,000 families remain on the waitlist, according to the budget request.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Texas Tribune previously reported<\/a> that tight application deadlines and confusing documentation requirements made it difficult for families of students with disabilities to receive money reserved for special education. That led to officials in the comptroller\u2019s office saying they would push for additional funding<\/a> for those families in future years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Huffines asked for that additional funding in the new request, where officials note that they expect nearly 15,000 participating children to receive appropriate special education documentation next year, which could then make them eligible for additional money. The comptroller would use some of the $226 million \u2014 requested in addition to the billion-dollar increase \u2014 to accommodate those families.\u00a0<\/p>\n Roughly 7,300 students who currently attend private schools under the program have a documented disability, receiving the base $10,500 plus an average of more than $5,000 in additional special education funding, according to the request.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spending on the program during the 2026-27 biennium was limited to $1 billion. Legislative budget experts predicted<\/a> that it could rise to roughly $4.8 billion by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n Disclosure: Texas State Teachers Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article<\/a> first appeared on The Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.<\/p>\n Sign up for San Antonio Current\u2019s new \u201cTexas Politics This Week\u201d newsletter.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tFrom school takeovers to college affordability, the Democrat and Republican are rolling out their education priorities ahead of November\u2019s election.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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