The Texas Senate Committee on Education spent part of Wednesday reviewing the first year of Texas Education Freedom Accounts, the state's new program that gives families money toward private school or homeschooling. Supporters pointed to demand for the accounts; critics questioned what the program is costing public schools.
Travis Pillow, the program's interim director, called it "the largest, most successful year one school choice launch in U.S. history" and the second-largest education savings account program in the country, Spectrum News reported. He told senators that more than 95,000 children are waiting for access and said the program looks forward to working with the Legislature to expand it, according to CBS Austin.
Questions about public school money
Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, asked Pillow whether he knew how much the public school system had lost because of the program. Pillow replied that it was "not a question with a straightforward answer."
An estimate from the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency puts the cost to Texas school districts at about $294 million this year, a figure it calculated from per-student funding, CBS Austin reported. Carrie Griffith, executive director of Our Schools Our Democracy, told reporters at the Capitol that the money could pay for certified teachers, occupational therapists, counselors and teaching assistants.
Sen. Brent Hagenbuch, a Denton Republican, praised the program. "This is such a great program, and I'm so proud we've implemented it," he told Pillow, adding that he agreed parents have a God-given right to choose their children's education.
In response to a CBS Austin records request, the Texas Comptroller's office said upward of 30,000 students have exited the program. The office is surveying families who opted out to learn why, a spokesperson told the station.
