White Texans, students previously in private school or home-school make up bulk of voucher applicants
- Preliminary data from the Texas school voucher program shows that most applicants are white families with children who previously attended private school or were home-schooled.
Most of Texas’ school voucher applications come from white families and children who previously attended a private school or home-school.
The Texas comptroller’s office, which manages the program, released preliminary data before applications for families interested in vouchers closed Tuesday night. The program will allow them to use taxpayer funds to pay for private school or home-schooling costs.
Of the 256,700 Texans who applied as of late March, 45% are white, 23% are Hispanic and 11% are Black. Low-income families make up 36% of applicants — defined as a family of four earning $66,000 or less per year.
For comparison, 24% of Texas public school students are white, 54% are Hispanic and 13% are Black. About 60% of public school students are considered low-income — defined as a family of four earning $61,050 or less annually.
In addition, about 73% of applicants attended a private school or home-school during the 2024-25 academic year. The comptroller did not provide data on students’ current enrollment.
The state is expected to release final data this week.
“It’s not surprising that a state as big as Texas has more voucher applicants than other smaller states, especially with such a large marketing budget,” Carrie Griffith, executive director of Our Schools Our Democracy, a public education advocacy group, said in a statement.
“It’s also not surprising that so few public school families have applied for a private school voucher,” Griffith added. “Public schools deliver special education services, provide transportation, support extracurriculars, keep kids safe, and prepare them for life. They are one of Texas’s most effective, unifying public institutions. And the data remains undeniable: Most Texans want strong, fully funded public schools — not vouchers.”
Most participating families with children in private schools will receive about $10,500 annually. Home-schoolers can receive up to $2,000 per year. Children with disabilities qualify for up to $30,000 — an amount based on what it would cost to educate that child in a public school.
In other states with voucher programs structured like Texas’, white families with children previously in private school make up the majority of participants.
Travis Pillow, a spokesperson for the comptroller, said Texas anticipates having only enough funding for children with disabilities and students from low- and middle-income families. Program participants, Pillow believes, will look different than the pool of applicants.
“We are working on a detailed report that captures all our outreach efforts for year 1, but we know there’s going to be more work to do to get the word out in year 2 and beyond,” Pillow said. “We’ll be looking for opportunities to reach more families we didn’t reach in year 1 and for ways to build trust in this new program.”
More in U.S.
Demand for the program exceeds $1 billion in available funding, which means the state will conduct a lottery to determine who can receive vouchers. The state will consider, in order of priority:
Students with disabilities and their siblings in families with an annual income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level, which includes a four-person household earning less than roughly $165,000 a year (12% of applicants).
Families at or below 200% of the poverty level, which includes a four-person household earning less than roughly $66,000 (31% of applicants).
Families between 200% and 500% of the poverty level (30% of applicants).
Families at or above 500% of the poverty level (22% of applicants); these families can receive up to $200 million of the program’s total budget. Children who attended public school for at least 90% of the prior school year will receive priority within this group (5% of applicants).
Families must still find private schools — which are generally not required to accommodate students with disabilities, who make up 14% of applicants — to accept their children. That will ultimately determine who receives voucher funding.
Parents must have their children enrolled in a school by July 15. Later this month, families will begin finding out if they can receive voucher funding.
Comments include criticism that Texas voucher programs mainly benefit wealthier, often white families already using private or home schools, seen as a transfer of public funds to the affluent. Other comments point to concerns about public school funding cuts and debates over racial and political motives behind the program.
