Dee Carney, director of the Austin-based Center for Voucher Transparency, said in a press briefing Tuesday that \u201cthe comptroller has described the waitlist as evidence of demand, but who is waiting matters as much as how many are waiting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTexans deserve to know whether the $1 billion taxpayer-funded program is delivering on the claim from supporters that vouchers would create new educational opportunities for those who wanted to leave public schools, or just shifting taxpayer dollars to families already in private schools,\u201d she said. \u201cIn its first year, the voucher program is primarily subsidizing private education for families already able to afford it, rather than expanding opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Only 20 percent of the students on the voucher waitlist were previously enrolled in public schools. Credit: Texas Center for Voucher Transparency<\/p>\n
Travis Pillow, a spokesman for the TEFA program, has said repeatedly that even though someone sent their kids to private school in the past, they may be working a second job or foregoing a family vacation to do so. Additionally, a high percentage of voucher applicants are pre-K and kindergarten students who didn\u2019t go to any school last year.<\/p>\n
Interim Comptroller Don Huffines has already asked to double the program\u2019s funding to $2 billion for the next school year, a request that will be considered when the legislature reconvenes in January and discussed at a Legislative Appropriations Request hearing on September 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Texas State Teachers Association issued a statement criticizing the budget request and saying that taxpayers need more information before agreeing to increase the funding. \u201cMany school districts have been forced to close campuses or eliminate programs to tackle budget deficits,\u201d the statement reads. \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
Carney has said that eligibility for a voucher does not equate to access. During Tuesday\u2019s briefing, officials with Our Schools Our Democracy<\/a> and its subsidiary, Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, shared research they gathered in a review of 221 voucher-accepting private schools across the state, titled \u201cChoice on Paper, Not in Practice.\u201d<\/p>\n During the briefing, Carney said \u201creligion is the dominant gatekeeper\u201d determining whether a private school was accepted into the voucher program.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought it was interesting that 23 percent [of the private schools reviewed] use religious preference somehow in admission,\u201d she said. \u201cIt could be admission priority, pricing, parish versus non-parish members, continued enrollment eligibility, statement of faith or worship participation requirements. Some schools require letters of recommendation from a pastor.\u201d<\/p>\n And just because a family gets a voucher, they\u2019re not guaranteed entry into the school of their choice, one of the reasons more than 20,700 families declined<\/a> the subsidies. Others said they were surprised by hidden fees or the voucher didn\u2019t cover the full amount of tuition. \u201cThe sticker price rarely tells the full story,\u201d Carney said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, Carney said some parents claim their preferred private school advertised that it could serve students with disabilities and they later found out that not all disabilities were included in that description.\u00a0<\/p>\n The TEFA provides up to $30,000 for students with disabilities, $10,000 for traditional private school students and $2,000 per child for homeschool students. More than 200 Houston-area private schools were approved by the state to accept vouchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new data examined during Tuesday\u2019s briefing included the statistic that, of the 106,142 who remain on the voucher waitlist, 20 percent had previously enrolled in public school, less than half of a percent of the 5.5 million Texans who currently attend public institutions. Carney also noted that all waitlisted applicants fall above the low-income threshold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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All waitlisted applicants are above the low-income tier. Credit: Texas Center for Voucher Transparency<\/p>\n