school vouchers

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has requested legislators double the money behind the state’s private school voucher program to $2 billion. More than 100,000 students sit on the waitlist, but critics argue there is little evidence vouchers are delivering on their promises to justify expanding the program.

The state has released its first in-depth look at who is signing up for the state's new billion-dollar initiative.

The Museum School of East Dallas is one of four new Texas charter schools opening this semester. Some Dallas ISD families worry it is dividing a close-knit community by drawing away funding, students, and teachers.

After a 2019 tornado leveled Walnut Hill Elementary School, Dallas ISD leaders decided to combine it with a nearby middle school – and rebuild the campus to compete for students.

Latino children accounted for the vast majority of students who left public schools this year, according to a new analysis.

The Texas comptroller’s office will conduct a lottery the week of April 27 to determine which additional families can receive education savings accounts.

Families in the first tier of the lottery — low- and middle-income students with disabilities — may be notified as early as next week if they’ve qualified for voucher funds, according to a spokesperson for the program, who says the majority of applicants will end up on a waitlist.

The demographic breakdown of applicants shows Texas’ voucher program will likely not reflect the diversity of Texas public school students.

A day after U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered an extension of the application deadline for families, and required the plaintiff schools be given the chance to apply, the schools' applications were accepted by the Texas comptroller’s office.

The application period, set to close Tuesday night, must now remain open until March 31, according to an attorney representing Islamic schools.

Texas families have until midnight Tuesday to apply for newly created Texas Education Freedom Accounts, which use public funds to pay for private schooling.

In order to qualify for up to $20,000 in additional funding for students with disabilities, Texas families seeking vouchers must obtain personalized evaluations from public school districts, which in many cases could be helping those families leave for private schools.