Texas' School Choice Plan: What Parents Need to Know

Texas is rolling out a new education program called the Texas Education Freedom Accounts. This program, which starts in the 2026-27 school year, is like a voucher system. It lets parents use state money for private school or homeschooling. The Texas Educational Agency is holding meetings to explain this program. These meetings will help parents understand how to apply and what schools are involved. The first meetings are in North Texas. Parents can get up to $10, 500 for private school or $2, 000 for homeschooling. Families with disabled students can get up to $30, 000. Applications open on Feb. 4.Over 1, 100 private schools have signed up to accept this money. More than 300 of these schools are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Meetings are scheduled in several cities. The Dallas meeting is on Feb. 7 at the Shops at RedBird. The Fort Worth meeting is on Jan. 31 at the McFadden Science Center. Other meetings are in San Antonio, McAllen, Lubbock, Houston, and Tyler. The San Antonio meeting was moved to Feb. 1 due to bad weather. This program is a big change in how Texas funds education.