Parent applications open soon for Texas private school voucher program

Parent applications open soon for school vouchers

Parents can soon sign up for state-sponsored school vouchers as part of the controversial new program that starts next school year.

DALLAS - Parents can soon sign up for state-sponsored school vouchers as part of the controversial new program that starts next school year.

What we know:

The state comptroller’s office posted a list of nearly 200 eligible locations in North Texas. 

Most parents who qualify can receive up to nearly $10,500 each year in public money for their child to go to private school. 

On Feb. 4, parents can apply for what the state calls a Texas Education Freedom Account. 

It allows parents to remove their students from public school and enroll them in private school using state-funded education savings accounts. 

The program will be capped at 90,000 students statewide. ESAs will be given on a priority scale, so lower income households and students with special needs will get priority first for the funds. 

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Advocates for voucher program

Shelby Doyle is the senior vice president of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. 

What they're saying:

"School choice is important for Texas families and for any family, because parents know their kids best, and they need the flexibility and the options to match not just a great school in general, but a great school with the kid that is living in their home," said Doyle. 

Doyle responded to critics of the program who are concerned that tax dollars are being spent to support private education. 

"I think the rationale here is that we want to empower families to make this choice, regardless of where they start from in life. So there are lots of families out there who are already paying for private school for their students, but there are lots more families who would love to give the opportunities and options that a private school can open for their students to their kid, but they can't afford it," said Doyle. 

Republicans who support ESA's say the program can provide better education opportunities for families in failing school districts. 

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Critics of voucher program

Democrats have been critical of the program, saying private schools aren't required to accept every student. Many believe there is not enough oversight for the program. 

Texas State Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-Dallas) is against the ESA program. 

The other side:

"My concern is, is this really going to go to the students that it's intended to? Because these private schools are not required to take all students, but they are taking all taxpayer dollars, so that's my concern," Plesa said. 

A list of nearly 800 private schools across the state have been approved for the $1 billion program. Of that number, nearly 200 locations are in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. 

Opponents are quick to point out there aren't quite as many options in rural areas. 

"If you go to the North Texas area — that's Wichita Falls, that's Sherman, that's Denison — you only have six schools approved there. And the whole part of the Panhandle, Amarillo, only nine schools were approved. So that concern about families who can afford to live around private schools, who can't afford to pay to go to private schools, they're still going to be the ones benefiting," said Plesa.