The Texas comptroller’s office says it's on track to start notifying families next week about whether they've qualified for funding as part of the state's new $1 billion school voucher program.
More than 274,000 families applied — far exceeding the program's capacity — triggering a lottery system run by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to determine who receives state funds. Families can receive about $10,500 per student annually to be used for private school tuition, while students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000 and home-schooled students can get $2,000.
The program's first priority will be to fund education savings accounts (ESAs) for students with disabilities and their siblings from families earning up to $240,000 per year. Comptroller's office spokesperson Travis Pillow, whose office is running the program, said that includes approximately 40,000-45,000 students.
The second tier, for all students in households that earn less than $66,000 annually, includes as many as 79,000 students. Next in line are students from households earning up to $240,000, with families earning more than that receiving the lowest priority.
"We’ll get through the first tier and then as much of the second tier as we possibly can," Pillow said. "In year one, we will certainly be placing the majority of applicants on the waitlist."
The program is running behind schedule. A federal judge ordered a two-week extension for the voucher application window amid ongoing lawsuits filed by Islamic private schools and parents of Muslim students, who allege they were excluded from the program due to religious discrimination. During that extension, from March 17 to March 31, tens of thousands more families applied, further crowding an applicant pool that had already exceeded capacity.
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The comptroller's office had initially planned to notify families of their status in early April, but Pillow said the extension pushed back that timeline. The office is working with Odyssey, the program's contracted certified education assistance organization, to verify students' information. Once confirmed, the ESAs will be funded in July for use during the 2026-27 school year.
As the office continues reviewing student applications, Pillow says it's also conducting a second round of verification for private schools already admitted to the program.
"Basically, every school that applies has to show us that they meet three criteria," Pillow said. "They have to show that they are properly accredited, they have to show that they have a location in the state of Texas, and they have to show that they have operated a campus for at least two years. We are in the process of verifying all the documentation that was submitted, basically doing a double check to make sure that, before we start providing funding to student accounts, that every school is participating truly does meet all the criteria, and that all their documentation is up to snuff."
Pillow said while the office has not yet suspended or removed any school, they have found some instances of a "gap in a school's accreditation paperwork" and have requested more information to verify they qualify.
Houston Public Media asked if the checks would be completed ahead of a June 15 deadline for when families must have selected, and been accepted, into the private school where they want to use their voucher.
Pillow said the office was more focused on the July 1 deadline, when money begins to be transferred into a student's ESA account.
"That’s really what we’re focused on is when the money starts flowing, everybody who could receive payment is fully qualified [and] meets all the requirements in the law," Pillow said. "As long as the school meets all the requirements, and certainly the vast majority do there, there will not be any changes in their status and families do not have anything to worry about there."
Nearly 2,400 private schools have already been admitted to the program and more can be approved on a rolling basis. The program will also allow schools to join as late as this summer.
Few details about how schools are evaluated for acceptance into the voucher program have been publicly shared. The office has declined to release application records or information about its approval process, citing pending litigation tied to the lawsuit from the Islamic schools.
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