Greater than three-quarters of the 152,389 Texas college students whose households utilized to enroll within the state’s faculty voucher program already attended personal campuses this yr, in line with knowledge from Texas Middle for Voucher Transparency (TCVT).
Certainly, simply 24% of scholars who utilized for the state’s controversial program as of Wednesday attended Texas public colleges, together with public pre-Ok, in line with knowledge the advocacy group obtained from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
“Early voucher utility knowledge means that the overwhelming majority of households proceed to decide on and belief their native public colleges to coach their kids,” TCVT Director Dee Carney mentioned in an announcement.
The 76% of scholars whose households utilized for the voucher program will enter grades Pre-Ok by means of 12 within the 2026-2027 faculty yr.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, who final week accepted her celebration’s gubernatorial nomination, mentioned TCVT’s numbers present that Texas’ faculty voucher laws solely helps the already well-off.
This system, which guarantees $10,000 to qualifying households per scholar, was championed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Hinojosa’s opponent within the main. The vouchers are paid for by Texas taxpayers.
“Abbott is taking cash from 5.5 million public faculty youngsters to as an alternative serve his wealthy donors,” Hinojosa mentioned in a textual content message to the Present. “That’s the Greg Abbott Corruption Tax, and dealing Texans are performed paying for it.”
Joshua Cowen, a faculty voucher skeptic and professor of schooling coverage at Michigan State who testified in opposition to Texas’ voucher invoice final yr on the State Capitol, advised the Present the info is on par with different states which have enacted related laws.
“It’s uncanny,” Cowen mentioned. “I’ve been warning about this in 23 different states, and there’s nothing within the Texas laws that I haven’t seen in a dozen different states — and it’s precisely the identical consequence.”
Of those that utilized for vouchers in Texas, a plurality, or 31%, are from middle-class and upper-middle-class households incomes between 200% and 500% of the federal poverty degree, TCVT’s numbers present. For many who battle with statistics, that’s between $66,000 and $160,000 a yr.
Not fairly “welfare for the wealthy,” as some critics cost. Nonetheless, the info exhibits Texas upper-middle class households are reaping a lot of the rewards, in line with Cowen.
“I name typical personal colleges ‘subprime,’ as a result of they’re not notably good,” Cowen mentioned. “A whole lot of them [operate] out of church basements, double-wide trailers or one thing like that. The folks utilizing these aren’t the wealthiest within the state. The purpose is that they had been already in personal faculty to start with.”
Certainly, two of the top-ranked personal colleges in San Antonio, TMI Episcopal and the Keystone College, which cost round $30,000 in tuition per high-school scholar, aren’t accepting vouchers, in line with the Texas Training Freedom Accounts web site.
Neither faculty instantly responded to the Present’s request for remark. Nevertheless, the development in San Antonio is much like that seen in Dallas, the place not less than 4 of the highest 10 personal colleges aren’t collaborating within the voucher program, the Dallas Morning Information studies.
Cowen mentioned it’s attainable Texas’ elite colleges could start accepting vouchers as this system progresses.
“I’m positive these colleges with excessive tuitions have personal endowments and monetary help packages for a handful of children who get in and qualify,” he mentioned. “I wouldn’t be stunned if, over time, what they do is resolve that they’ll maintain making their endowment with out having to dip into it due to vouchers. They received’t change admission requirements.”
Nevertheless, even with a $10,000 voucher from the state of Texas, the admission prices for TMI and Keystone will stay out of attain for many San Antonio households, Cowen famous.
Texas faculty voucher purposes for the 2026-27 faculty yr stay open by means of March 17.
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