In 2025, despite two decades of fierce opposition led by ATPE and other public school advocates, the Texas Legislature passed a private school voucher program that uses public funds to help eligible families pay for private education and other approved educational expenses. The program, called Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), was created by the Texas Legislature through Senate Bill 2 in 2025 and began serving students in the 2026-27 school year.
ATPE’s position: ATPE believes Texas should prioritize public schools and provide them with the resources necessary to fulfill the state's constitutional obligation to provide an adequate and equitable public education for every student. ATPE opposes using public funds for private school vouchers and other privatization programs that direct taxpayer resources away from public schools.
What is education privatization?
Education privatization refers broadly to policies that shift the delivery, management, or funding of education from traditional public institutions toward private individuals, organizations, or companies.
Privatization proposals and policies can include:
- Private school vouchers
- Education savings accounts
- Tax-credit scholarship programs
- Publicly funded private education
- Privately operated virtual schools
- Charter school expansion
- Private management of public school campuses
ATPE opposes privatization policies that direct public education funding or resources away from traditional public schools.
What are school vouchers?
A school voucher is a government-funded benefit that subsidizes private education. Voucher programs can take different forms, including direct payments, tax credits, or education savings accounts. Texas' current program uses an Education Savings Account (ESA) model.
What are Texas Education Freedom Accounts?
Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) are state-funded accounts established by Senate Bill 2 that allow eligible families to use public funds for certain approved educational expenses.
Depending on the student's circumstances, TEFA funds can be used for expenses such as:
- Private school tuition
- Homeschool-related educational expenses
- Tutoring
- Instructional materials and curriculum
- Certain educational services and other approved expenses
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts administers the TEFA program.
For the 2026-27 school year, participating students enrolled in accredited private schools are eligible for $10,474 in TEFA funding. Students with qualifying disabilities and an active Individualized Education Program may be eligible for up to $30,000. Other participating students, including homeschool students, may receive $2,000.
Who Is eligible for Texas Education Freedom Accounts?
Texas law establishes priority categories for TEFA participation when applications exceed available funding.
For the program's first year, priority was given to:
- Students with qualifying disabilities in households with income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level.
- Students in households with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
- Students in households with income between 200% and 500% of the federal poverty level.
- Students in households with income at or above 500% of the federal poverty level.
Within the highest-income priority group, students who previously attended a Texas public or charter school for at least 90% of the prior school year receive additional priority. State law limits the amount of program funding that can go to this group.
Because applications exceeded available first-year funding, Texas used a lottery to determine awards within certain priority categories and established a waitlist.
How much public money is going to private education?
The Texas Legislature appropriated $1 billion for the initial TEFA program. The first year of the program generated more than 274,000 student applications, and more than 85,000 students had confirmed participation for the 2026-27 school year as of August 2026.
The program's implementation represents a significant change in Texas education policy because public funds are now being used to support educational expenses outside the traditional public school system on a statewide basis.
How do private schools differ from public schools?
Texas public schools and private schools participating in TEFA operate under different requirements.
Public school districts are governed by elected school boards and are subject to extensive state and federal requirements concerning areas such as:
- Student rights and protections
- Special education
- Public accountability
- Transparency
- Curriculum and academic requirements
- Financial reporting
- Open meetings and public records
Private schools participating in TEFA remain private schools. They do not become public schools simply because they accept TEFA funds.
This distinction is central to the debate over public funding for private education: Taxpayers may fund a student's education through TEFA, while having less direct authority over the private institution providing that education.
What role do virtual schools play in privatization?
Virtual education has long been available to some Texas public school students. Public school districts also operated temporary full-time virtual programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Privatization advocates have also supported expanding state-funded virtual education programs operated by private companies. ATPE members have expressed concern that privately operated, state-funded virtual education can function similarly to voucher programs, particularly when public funds support students outside traditional public school systems.
How do charter schools relate to privatization?
Charter schools are public schools, but they differ from traditional public school districts in governance, funding, and regulation.
Charter schools are generally governed by charter operators rather than locally elected school boards and operate with greater flexibility from certain state laws and regulations.
Texas policymakers have expanded the role of charter operators, including allowing charter operators to manage campuses and, in some circumstances, become involved in the management of public school campuses or districts.
ATPE believes policymakers should carefully consider how charter expansion and deregulation affect public accountability, student outcomes, and the resources available to traditional public schools.
What are the arguments for and against private school vouchers?
Arguments in favor
Supporters of private school vouchers often argue that:
- Parents should have greater control over where and how their children are educated.
- Public funding should follow students rather than remain tied to a particular public school.
- Families should have access to private, homeschool, or other educational options.
- Competition from private schools can encourage public schools to improve.
- Education savings accounts provide families with greater flexibility in how they spend education funds.
Arguments against
Opponents of using public funds for private education raise concerns about:
- Public accountability for how taxpayer funds are spent.
- Whether private schools should receive public funds without being subject to the same requirements as public schools.
- Student rights and protections in private and home-based educational settings.
- Whether private schools must serve all students, including students with disabilities.
- The diversion of state resources away from public schools that need additional support.
- Whether public funding should support institutions governed by private individuals or organizations rather than elected school boards.
- The long-term fiscal impact of expanding publicly funded private education.
What Is ATPE's position on school vouchers and privatization?
ATPE believes public schools must remain public and taxpayer resources should be reserved for public schools.
ATPE supports parents' right to choose whether to enroll their children in public or private schools or to homeschool them. However, ATPE opposes using taxpayer-funded vouchers, ESAs, or similar programs to subsidize private education.
ATPE also believes Texas public schools deserve full state funding and support so they can provide an adequate and equitable education to all students as mandated by the state constitution.
ATPE does not oppose privately funded scholarship programs that offer opportunities for students with special needs or other circumstances, provided those programs do not divert public education funding from public schools.
Why does ATPE oppose publicly funded private school vouchers?
ATPE's concerns about publicly funded private education include:
- Public accountability: Private schools receiving public funds do not operate under the same transparency and accountability requirements as public schools.
- Student protections: Public schools are subject to numerous state and federal requirements designed to protect students' rights. Those protections may not apply in the same way to private or home-based educational settings.
- Public funding: ATPE believes limited state education dollars should be directed toward strengthening the public schools that serve the vast majority of Texas students.
- Governance: Public school districts are governed by locally elected school boards, while private schools are governed by private organizations or individuals.
- Equity and access: Public schools have a legal obligation to serve students in their communities, while private schools may have different admission requirements, capacity limitations, and eligibility criteria.
What is deregulation in Texas public education?
- Deregulation refers to reducing or removing certain legal or regulatory requirements governing public schools.
- Texas created the District of Innovation (DOI) designation in 2015. Districts designated as DOIs may exempt themselves from certain state education laws and rules, allowing them greater flexibility in areas governed by those laws.
- ATPE believes deregulation should not diminish transparency, accountability, or protections for students and educators.
Learn more
Read the member-adopted ATPE Legislative Program to learn more about ATPE's positions on privatization, vouchers, public school funding and deregulation.
For additional information about ATPE's advocacy efforts, visit the Teach the Vote blog.