After years of debate, Texas’ private school voucher application opens this week

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As the state’s private school voucher program goes live, education experts said it’s not just parents with questions about what comes next.

On Wednesday, Texas’ private school voucher application process goes live, and Erin Baumgartner, Director of the Houston Education Research Consortium at Rice University, said public school districts will be watching to see how many families apply.

“This is something districts have been thinking about even before vouchers came along, is how can they make sure families know about all of the amazing programs they offer and how their needs can get met,” Baumgartner explained.

Baumgartner said the voucher program may not have a significant impact because many families who apply starting Wednesday may already be familiar with private schools. In other state voucher programs, more than 90 percent of participants were already enrolled in private schools.

It’s possible, she says, Texas is different. Texas is allocating $1 billion to benefit about 100,000 students, more than any other state.

“The budget is high for Texas because we’re a big state, but in other states where they’ve budgeted, it’s ended up far exceeding the budget than what the cost of the program was once they opened it up to families,” Baumgartner said.

“I think it’s about the needs of your family and your kids,” Baumgartner explained. “Knowing that if you have a student with special needs, there are certain private schools that may not be able to meet those needs, where we know public schools have to meet the needs for those students.”

How to apply

The process starts on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Officials said there’s no need to rush to submit an application, as families have until March 17th to apply.

You can fill out an application on your computer or phone on the Texas Education Freedom Accounts website. You have to provide documentation, including tax returns and citizenship information.

Parents don’t need to say which private school their child is attending, yet.

One thing to keep in mind is that if too many families apply, there will be a lottery. If that happens, the bill lays out what would happen.

There would be priority for children with disabilities, followed by income. Experts said that if a lottery is used, transparency will be key to ensuring those requirements are followed when allocating taxpayer funds.

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