HOUSTON – Data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts provides a breakdown of verified applicant income levels and where families plan to enroll their students next school year.
The program, which allows families to use state funds toward private education expenses, received 141,608 student applications between Feb. 4 and March 1.
Under the program, applicants are placed into priority tiers based on income level, disability status and prior enrollment.
Among students whose information has been verified:
- 31% are from families earning between 200% and 500% of the federal poverty level
- 30% are from families earning 200% or less of the federal poverty level
- 23% are from families earning more than 500% of the federal poverty level
- 11% are students with disabilities from families earning up to 500% of the federal poverty level
- 5% are higher-income students who were previously enrolled in public school
Students with disabilities and lower-income families receive higher priority for funding under the program.
However, education advocates say the data still leaves several important questions unanswered.
“It really raises more questions than it answers,” said Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency. “There is nothing controversial about helping Texans easily understand how that $1 billion in taxpayer-funded money is going to vouchers and what are they getting for their money."
Carney said the state’s data only reflects applications with verified information, meaning it is unclear how many applicants have actually submitted income documentation.
“What we don’t know is how many students out of about 142,000 have submitted their income verification,” Carney said.
In 2025, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2 and provided $1 billion in funding to create the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program.
The data also shows how families say they plan to use the funding.
According to the data:
- 79% of applicants say they plan to enroll in private school next year
- 21% say they plan to homeschool or use another educational setting
Carney said that remains one of the biggest unanswered questions about the program.
“The number one question that Texans want to know is what percent of students applying are coming from public school and what percent are coming from private school,” said Carney.
Carney noted that even if all applicants were coming from public schools, the number would represent a very small share of the state’s total student population.
“When you look at 142,000 out of 5.5 million public school students enrolled, that’s about 0.03%,” she said. “Families overall are generally happy with their public schools.”
Verified income data shows applicants come from a range of household income levels:
- 37% of applicants come from families earning between 200% and 500% of the federal poverty level
- 34% come from families earning 200% or less of the federal poverty level
- 29% come from families earning more than 500% of the federal poverty level
For context, 200% of the federal poverty level is roughly $66,000 per year for a family of four, while 500% is roughly $165,000.
KPRC 2 asked the Comptroller’s Office for the number of applicants who were already enrolled in a private school at the time of application.
But the office said, “We do not have responsive information for current enrollment status.”
The Texas Comptroller’s Office is accepting applications through March 17.