School vouchers will soon become a reality in Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott says he will sign a $1 billion school voucher program, referred to as “education savings accounts,” into law during a special ceremony Saturday.
Once the program goes into effect, education savings accounts (ESAs) would allow families to use state money to pay for private school tuition, transportation, therapy and other education-related items.
Senate Bill 2, approved by the House April 18 and by the Senate on Wednesday with no changes, ties ESAs to state public school funding, setting the amount a family can get through the voucher program at 85% of their public school district’s average student allotment.
While there are virtually no limits on who can apply for an ESA, the program will prioritize families making less than five times the federal poverty line or about $160,000. Households making more than that can still take up to 20% of available slots.
State lawmakers say the program will benefit roughly 100,000 of the more than 5.5 million students in Texas public schools. Meanwhile, there are roughly 300,000 students already enrolled in private schools across the state.
How much could a San Antonio student get?
State lawmakers predict qualifying families across Texas would receive about $10,000 since the average student allotment in the state is $12,815, discounting federal funds. Homeschool families would receive $2,000 and families with special needs students would receive 100% of their school district’s student allotment, up to $30,000.
To qualify for a school voucher, students would have to withdraw from the public school system.
While the base amount districts currently receive from the state is $6,160 per student, student allotments in Texas school districts vary based on the district’s property tax rates and student demographics, such as student needs and the programs they enroll in.
Though voucher advocates insist most students who apply for an ESA would receive about $10,000, — 85% of $12,815 — students in the San Antonio area would probably receive less than that.
The state is also set to increase public school funding, raising the basic student allotment by $395 and making significant changes to way special education is funded, raising the value of individual vouchers since ESAs are tied the average state and local funding per student.
San Antonio ISD spokesperson Laura Short said the average student allotment from state and local funds for the 2024-25 school year was $10,436. With the boost in public school funding, the average SAISD student who wanted to opt into the ESA program to seek schooling elsewhere could receive upwards of $8,871.
At North East ISD, a wealthier area of the city, the average student allotment was about $8,823 for the current school year, spokesperson Aubrey Chancellor said. If a student within the district was approved for a voucher, they would potentially receive more than $7,500.
Officials at Southside ISD estimate their average student allotment is $12,173, meaning a school voucher for a student within the district could be worth more than $10,300.
What can school vouchers pay for?
Private schools in San Antonio could see an uptick in enrollment from students who previously couldn’t afford them.
But ESAs alone aren’t likely to cover the full cost of several private schools in San Antonio.
- San Antonio Christian School, a pre-K -12 private school on the North Side of San Antonio, charges $10,250 for pre-K students to attend the school five days a week. After that, tuition increases up until the high school grade levels up to $17,250 a year. An application and testing fee costs an additional $150 and enrollment fees cost $750.
- Catholic Central High School, an all-boys institution near the city’s downtown area, has a yearly tuition of $14,330 and charges a $200 registration fee.
- The southernmost private schools in San Antonio are St. John Berchmans Catholic School and Town East Christian School. St. John’s, a pre-K-8 Catholic school, has a yearly tuition of $5,000 and charges a registration fee of $300 per student. Town East, a Christian pre-K-12 school, has a yearly tuition of $4,000 for families with one student enrolled. The application fee is $100 and the registration fee for every student is $125. Families must also pay a book fee that ranges from $185 to $550.
- St. Anthony High School, a co-ed school near Trinity University, has a yearly tuition of $12,575 with a $150 registration fee.
Getting public dollars through ESAs does not mean private schools will have more public oversight, a point of contention between supporters and opponents of school vouchers.
Private schools are not subject to regulation from the state and are not required to use any standardized testing or provide special education services. They also don’t have to accept all students, like public schools do.
Aside from tuition, families can use ESAs to pay for “approved purchases.”
The state is yet to create an official list of approved purchases, but lawmakers say it will include items like:
- Textbooks approved by the State Board of Education
- Tutoring
- Academic tests
- Transportation
- Therapy and technology for disabled students
SB2 also has a provision allowing for vouchers to pay for certain classes only offered at public school districts. This would be available to students enrolled in programs with limited curriculum offerings, such as homeschooling, but school districts would have to opt into offering those courses for a cost.
When will school vouchers be available?
After Abbott signs them into law, school vouchers will not be immediately available.
Public policy experts say applications will open late in the fall, giving families notice of their acceptance into the voucher program sometime in the spring. This would allow participants to purchase approved education materials and make enrollment plans the summer before the school year starts.
This means, the first group of students who would use vouchers to pay for tuition wouldn’t be able to do so until the 2026-27 school year.
