SAN ANTONIO – Texas families remain divided on the true impact of school choice as they prepare to apply for state funds to pay for their students’ tuition and other education benefits.
The School Discovery Network is an organization working to help people better understand the Texas Education Savings Account and how it might work.
The program will provide state funding for some educational practices. Once an application portal opens, families will need to apply their children for the program.
After placing an application, students could receive $10,000 for private school tuition or up to $2,000 for home-schooled students.
Students with disabilities will also be eligible for funding, but it’s unclear exactly how much each student with a disability could receive.
“I think it’s a great program that allows families to be able to leverage some additional resources in order to ensure that they can attend a school of their choice,” private school parent Rafael Diaz said.
However, some parents feel different.
“I do feel like it might level the playing field but only so far,” Vanessa Fitzgerald said. “When you look at the private school going into high school, it doesn’t cover much for low-income families.”
Private schools in Bexar County range from around $4,000 per year, to as much as $34,000 per year, according to a KSAT analysis, with some exceptions.
This means, at the highest price point, parents would still be responsible for roughly $24,000 in tuition at some schools.
“Ultimately, we wish the public school system in general would be funded,” Keldon Fitzgerald said.
Other parents felt like the public school curriculum is too focused on standardized testing.
“It concerns me when I feel that the whole education from early on is guided by a standardized test,” charter school parent Caroline Hijazi said.
The School Discovery Network has been hosting free town hall meetings about the Education Savings Account program to help families figure out if the program is a good fit for them and how to move forward once the portal opens.
The next town hall will be held virtually Thursday.
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