Vouchers

More than 110,000 Texas students are participating in Texas’ new voucher program. With its future uncertain, some parents worry about losing money they've come to depend on for their children's education.

After sweeping election wins on Tuesday, Texas Democrats are eyeing the upcoming legislative session as a chance to pursue major changes to public education, healthcare and affordability. But a Republican-controlled state Senate could limit how much they accomplish.

Texas families began receiving money from the state's new billion-dollar private school voucher program this summer, with another round of funding arriving earlier this month. Now, they're discovering just how much they can buy beyond tuition.

Families whose children attend private schools that don't participate in Texas' voucher program can still qualify for up to $2,000 in taxpayer- funded educational expenses.

A Texas senator is questioning what he calls a major loophole in the state's new school voucher program. KERA's Sujata Dand reports that families whose children attend non-participating private schools that don't participate in the program can still receive up to $2,000 for educational expenses. President Donald Trump’s expected visit to Lubbock next week to campaign for Republican Senate Candidate Ken Paxton has had a change in schedule, now overlapping a rally from Paxton’s opponent, Democrat representative James Talarico on the same day.

This semester marks one year since the state’s private school voucher program launched with a $1 billion budget. And this week, West Texans appeared before the Texas Senate committee on education to talk the impact. Our Brad Burt reports on Levelland ISD and Lubbock ISD.

Roughly 30% of voucher recipients previously attended public schools. When those students leave their districts for private or home school options they take with them thousands in state funding.

Texas public school districts could lose nearly $300 million in state funding to the voucher program, according to a report from watchdog groups Our Schools Our Democracy and Every Texan. Monday is the last day to register to vote for the November 3 election. Our Riley Wilson reports you can check your status at VoteTexas.gov. You can register or update your information in person at the Lubbock County Elections Office at 1308 Crickets Ave, Lubbock, TX 79401 or by mail to the office at 1308 Crickets Avenue, P.O. Box 10536, Lubbock, TX 79408.

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.