This Christian school hosted a pro-voucher rally, but now says program compromises its 'biblical rule’

One of Houston’s top-rated Christian private schools hosted a rally for Gov. Greg Abbott to promote his school vouchers plan in 2023, but administrators now say if they participated in the $1 billion program, it would amount to “government entanglement” incompatible with the school’s Christian mission.

Earlier this year, a Cypress Christian school leader told families in a private video — which the Chronicle obtained after previously reporting on the school’s voucher status — that they would not join the program to retain “biblical rule.” School leaders feared joining the state-funded program could open Cypress Christian to state audits, new testing requirements, or even one day force it to comply with rules on gender or sexuality that conflicted with its religious beliefs.

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“Our school bylaws require that every part of CCS, our curriculum and missions, employment, discipline and the way we've informed students must be governed exclusively by biblical doctrine and scripture,” Kris Hogan, Cypress Christian’s culture director, said in the video. “The Texas Education Freedom Account program, while well intentioned, requires something we simply cannot accept, and that is ongoing government entanglement.”

Cypress Christian did not respond to a request for comment about the video.

The video presents an unusual argument about a program that has been touted as a way to expand faith-based education, particularly among Christian schools, by providing state dollars for families to use on tuition. Private Christian institutions were central to the push for Texas’ voucher program, cheering on the GOP priority as a way to make their services more accessible. 

The school’s opposition is also notable because Cypress Christian welcomed Abbott for a pro-voucher rally in 2023, when the governor embarked on a statewide tour of more than a dozen Christian schools. It appears to be the only school Abbott visited during his tour that has not applied to the program. 

Many of the schools from Abbott's tour rushed to sign up in the program’s early months. But at least four schools that the governor visited on his “Parent Empowerment Night” tour of more than a dozen schools have not joined the Education Freedom Accounts, including Cypress Christian. Park Meadows Academy in Corsicana said it is waiting to be approved for participation. Kingdom Life Academy in Tyler said it is still working towards the program’s accreditation requirement. First Odessa Christian Academy closed last year, citing financial issues. 

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Of the other Christian schools that have opted out, some have not provided a public explanation, like Second Baptist school and Episcopal High School. Others, like Duchesne Academy, The Regis School and the Presbyterian School of Houston, said they are taking a backseat this year to monitor the rollout, according to their websites.

River Oaks Baptist School said that leaders believe their current financial aid programs already serve their community adequately.

‘Incompatible with full autonomy’

Cypress Christian’s reasoning stands out. Rather than financial aid or concerns about the program’s early stages, Hogan said in the video that participation could lead to forced compliance with public records requests, documentation of enrollment or audits of financial data, and new admissions policies or testing requirements — as has happened in states like Louisiana — could be added to the program in later years.

“The bottom line is public funding introduces external leverage compliance, obligations and audit authority that can and certainly will expand over time,” Hogan said in the video. “This level of oversight is simply incompatible with full autonomy.”

Hogan also referenced a program in Colorado wherein he said “religious schools that accepted public funds were required to comply with rules related to gender identity and sexuality.”

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While there is not a universal private school voucher program in Colorado, there is a universal pre-K program where private preschools receive public funds. In 2025, an appeals court ruled that children could not be forbidden to enroll in Catholic preschools based on the sexual orientation of their parents, according to local reports.

State leaders previously told the Chronicle that Cypress Christian is exercising its freedom to decide whether to join the voucher program, but state lawmakers also included several clauses in the law that enshrines the independence of private schools in the program. 

Under the law, Texas cannot enact policies that alter a school’s curriculum, admissions practices, standards and institutional values, like religion. The law does not specifically reference whether a school could be subject to audits or public records requests.

“The religious liberty and private school autonomy language in SB2 is the strongest of any school choice program in the country,” Laura Colangelo, director of the Texas Private School Association, said.