Families who qualify for free preschool could use state education savings accounts, known as school vouchers, to pay for highly-rated private preschools.
Signed into law for the first time in Texas history earlier this month, the ESA program allocates $1 billion state dollars for eligible families to cover the cost of private school tuition, therapy and other education-focused costs.
Some families could also use school vouchers to pay for private early education for children age 4, a positive step in addressing early childhood needs, said Mark Larson, executive director or the San Antonio-based early education advocacy group Early Matters.
However, there are far more restrictions on which pre-K students can qualify for an ESA compared to K-12 students.
Preschool ESAs are only for families who meet the criteria to enroll in a subsidized, or free public school program under the Texas Education Code.
Children in these families must fall under one of these categories: unable to understand and speak English, have special education needs, are homeless, are the child of an active military member, are the child of a military member injured or killed on duty, are in foster care or are the child of someone eligible for the Star of Texas award, which is for law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
The school voucher bill also places restrictions on which early education providers could receive ESA monies. Assuming the provider is in good standing with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, it must also be accredited by a “research-based, nationally recognized and universally accessible accreditation system” approved by the Texas Commissioner.
Providers should be part of the Texas Rising Star Program, a state-run rating system for child care and early education providers and have a three-star rating or higher. They can also be part of Texas School Ready, an early childhood teacher training program, have an existing partnership with a school district to provide preschool or be accredited by an organization recognized by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission.
Having such quality requirements is a good thing, early education experts say.
“Having the state of Texas make these ESAs or vouchers available to families and to specify that they be used in high quality environments, or allow them to be used in high quality learning environments, both in public schools and in high quality centers, is a gigantic step forward for our youngest learners” Larson said.
Because of the rapid brain development, Larson said lawmakers and the public have an obligation to provide children access to “high quality learning environments,” especially during their first few years of life.
“90% of the child’s brain development takes place before the first day of kindergarten,” making quality child care indispensable, Larson said while referencing a 2007 study from Harvard University’s Centre on the Developing Child.
Families can search for rated pre-K programs in their area on Texas Child Care Connections, a branch of the Texas Workforce Commission.
As for cost, the ESA bill ties school vouchers to public school funding.
Students would receive 85% of their local school district’s average student allotments, and students with disabilities would receive 100% of the allotment up to $30,000.
In San Antonio school districts, average student allotments — the amount of money school receive from the state per student — range from about $8,000 to $10,000 and are set to increase if the state passes House Bill 2, a proposal to boost public school funding that passed the Texas House and is currently pending in the Senate.
Larson said the average cost of child care in San Antonio ranges from $10,000 to $12,000 per child per year.
For Kristy Langel, mother of four and early education consultant, ESAs would’ve been a huge help when her children were in preschool. Langel’s four children, now older, attended Discovery School, a private early learning center for 18-month-olds through first grade.
“The cost was an issue for me,” Langel said, adding that she applied for scholarships and volunteered at the school to offset the costs.
But enrolling her children in a private preschool was important to Langel, citing that private early education centers tend to have smaller class sizes, play-based programs and include parents in the classroom more.
“I wanted small class size, and I wanted a developmentally appropriated curriculum. And the private school option gave me that.”
It’s not clear whether Pre-K 4 SA, a city-funded preschool program that offers families tuition on a sliding scale, would be eligible to accept ESAs.
Pre-K 4 SA’s eligibility will be dependent on how the rules for the school voucher program are written by the Texas Education Agency, a spokesperson for the program said on May 7.
Beginning Sept. 1, the state will develop the ESA program over a year. Public policy experts expect the first applications to open up in the spring of 2026, allowing for the first vouchers to be used for the 2026-27 school cycle.
