In the last few weeks, more than 95,000 Texas families found out that they would receive the school vouchers they applied for.
It's the first round of funding from the $1 billion Education Savings Account that became law in 2025
Lawmakers set up four tiers for the funding. Top priority in tier one goes to families who are beneath 500% percent of the federal poverty level and have a student with a disability.
The second tier prioritizes households earning below 200% percent of the poverty level, about $66,000 for a family of four. Tier three is for households between 200% and 500% of the FPL.
The final tier is for families above that level, and it's capped at 20% of all program funds.
Keri Sanders, educator and director of PEAK Christian Academy, said that while there's nothing wrong with public schools, it's important for families to have options.
"I think families around the country, but in Abilene, are just looking for something different. And we like to say that we gift families more time, and time with their kids, time as a family, and time to just have a little bit more control over their child's education," Sanders said.
Senate Bill 2 gives families a little more than $10,000 for private school or about $2,000 for homeschooling expenses, starting in the next school year.
PEAK's tuition ranges from around $4,000 to $5,000 per school year, significantly lower than the state average of around $14,000.
Sanders said she didn't feel like there was broad support for ESA's in the Abilene community, but once it became law, local families did apply.
"I don't think it's something that we saw a need for or necessarily saw it in a positive light. However, since it's gone through the process, I think families are accepting the fact that it has passed, so can we take advantage of it, and how can we get the funds from it?" Sanders said.
More than 274,000 families from various demographics applied for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program. In this first round of funding, around 28,000 children with a disability and around 16,000 children with a disabled sibling qualified for funding.
Kenley is a small private school in Abilene for kids with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, dyslexia and dysgraphia.
Rick Cason, director of Kenley School, says their goal is to get their students ready to return to a traditional school setting.
The school has 13 or fewer students in each grade. Every classroom has a teacher and a teacher's assistant to help give each child the specialized attention they need to be successful.
"Our third and fourth grade teachers this year does a wonderful job. If the kids feel like they read better sitting under a table, she lets them sit under the table. Wherever we can reach them best is what we try to do," Cason said.
Cason says 17 of the school's current 48 students will receive money from the school choice fund next year.
"I think it's a game changer for our kids, and it can be a game changer for us as a school too," Cason said.
Kenley rarely has to turn down students who would be a good fit for the school. However, Cason says interest from families looking to give their kids special attention with the help of school vouchers could push Kenley to their max capacity of 60 students.
PEAK Christian Academy has also seen an increase in those interested in enrolling. Director Keri Sanders says they've heard from more families than ever before.
"So I can only attribute that to definitely changing demands educationally, but also the fact that there is money out there definitely draws more people in," Sanders said.
However, Sanders says more interest doesn't mean that PEAK will be able to take more students. The admissions process is very selective, and they want to keep their 14:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Statewide demand far exceeded the available funding. In the second tier of funding, for children from households with an annual income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, 51,000 students received funding, but another 20,000 were put on a waitlist. Another 132,000 families from tiers three and four also ended up on the waiting list.
Those families and many others will be watching to find out what next year's application cycle will look like.
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