TCVT Report: Voucher application data raises new questions about who the program really serves

New data from the early application period for Texas's voucher program is raising serious questions about who will actually benefit from the program and whether it is doing anything to support students currently enrolled in public schools. The short answer: the voucher program is functioning exactly as it was intended.

Reporting from the Houston Chronicle and analysis from Our Schools Our Democracy's newly formed Texas Center for Voucher Transparency (TCVT) show that the vast majority of voucher applicants are not coming from public schools. In fact, roughly three-quarters of applicants already attend private schools or are otherwise not enrolled in public education, suggesting the program is largely subsidizing tuition for families who had already chosen private education.

Meanwhile, less than 1% of Texas public school families have applied for vouchers so far. "Texas public schools are the backbone of our communities," said Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, which obtained the figures through a public records request. "Early voucher application data suggests that the overwhelming majority of families continue to choose and trust their local public schools to educate their children."

Income data from early applications also challenges the claim that vouchers primarily help low-income families. Among applications with verified income levels, more than a third come from families earning between 200% and 500% of the federal poverty level, and nearly 30% come from families earning above 500% of the poverty level, roughly $165,000 per year for a family of four.

Geography presents another problem. More than 60% of Texas' 254 counties currently have no schools accepting vouchers, meaning families in those areas, especially rural communities, will still pay the taxes that fund the voucher program while having little or no access to it.

Texas lawmakers appropriated $1 billion in the program's first two years, the largest voucher program in the country, with costs projected to approach $6 billion in the next biennium. The voucher law only requires reporting to the legislature after five years of the program which will leave taxpayers with limited oversight in the early stage of the nation's largest voucher program. That's where organizations like OSOD and its TCVT come in to do what the state should be doing to provide transparency to taxpayers.

TCVT Voucher Watchdog Reporting Portal

This week, the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency (TXCVT) launched the Voucher Watchdog Reporting Portal, a first-in-the-nation online complaint form that allows Texans to confidentially report potential fraud, possible discrimination, misuse of public funds, and other concerns with Texas' new voucher program. Through the confidential form, TXCVT will collect concerns from Texans to analyze trends, identify potential red flags, and publish watchdog reports to make recommendations to improve how the $1 billion taxpayer-funded program serves students and families.

Meanwhile, the Texas Public Policy Foundation has named expansion of the voucher program it's top priority for the 90^th session. Along with TCVT, Texas AFT will continue to report on the goings-on of the voucher scam as our public schools continue to bleed enrollment and funding during state inaction.