Which families are using ESAs? Here’s what we know about Texas’ first school vouchers

By Jaden Edison, The Texas Tribune
August 3, 2026

More than 111,000 families are participating in Texas’ private school voucher program during its first year, according to a new public dashboard released by the state’s finance chief Oct. 29. 

White families make up the largest share of participants in the inaugural year, as do those considered low-income. Only 17% of first-year voucher recipients attended public schools during the 2024-25 school year, the most recent year of such data available. Roughly 83% attended private school, were home schooled or were too young to attend school that academic year.

While the vast majority of voucher recipients did not attend a public school when they applied, the largest numbers of participating families live within the boundaries of some of the state’s most populous school districts — with Houston, Dallas and Northside in the San Antonio area leading the way.

“No Texas child should be trapped in a failing school or forced to attend a school that is unable to provide the services they need to address disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia or auditory processing disorders,” recently appointed Comptroller Don Huffines said in an Aug. 3 statement, after the first annual report was released. “I am committed to improving and growing this program so every Texas child can have the opportunity to reach their dreams.”

Texas invested $1 billion in the program, making it one of the largest in the country. Republican state leaders made several key promises when it became law: that it would primarily benefit students with disabilities, those from low-income families and those longing to escape their neighborhood public schools.

However, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, an Austin Democrat running against Huffines in November, said in August that the first voucher report “proves this program is a billion-dollar handout to exclusive private schools concentrated in big cities, while public schools across the state are underfunded and closing at an alarming rate.”

Children with disabilities make up roughly 17% of students, while pre-K families comprise 10% of participants, the most of any grade level.

More than 95,300 students remain on the waitlist. Nearly 34,000 families declined invites to the program, many of whom previously had children in public school. 

First-year numbers could shift during the school year if students drop out of the program.

Senate Bill 2 — the Texas law creating the education savings accounts, or ESAs — required that the comptroller’s office submit an annual report to legislators summarizing demographic information of participating students by Aug. 1.

Officials from Huffines’ office had not finalized first-year numbers by Aug. 1 because they awaited responses from families with pending invites.

Participating parents with a child in private school will receive about $10,500 annually. Home-schoolers can receive up to $2,000 per year. Children with disabilities qualify for up to $30,000 — an amount based on what it would cost to educate that child in a public school.

The average per-student award is between $7,500 and $8,000, officials from the comptroller’s office said earlier this year. Fewer than 30 students with disabilities received the full $30,000 award, officials also said. 

When lawmakers debated the program last year, Republicans argued that vouchers would benefit all Texans — not just white and wealthy families. Democrats worried that ESAs would drain resources from public schools as state funding is tied to attendance.

The state considered roughly 274,000 applicants in order of priority:

• Students with disabilities and their siblings in families with an annual income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level, which includes a four-person household earning less than roughly $165,000 a year (12% of applicants).
• Families at or below 200% of the poverty level, which includes a four-person household earning less than roughly $66,000 (32% of applicants).
• Families between 200% and 500% of the poverty level (29% of applicants).
• Families at or above 500% of the poverty level (22% of applicants). These families collectively can receive up to $200 million of the program’s total budget. Children who attended public school for at least 90% of the prior school year will receive priority within this group (5% of applicants).

First-year returns show that families in the second and third tiers received the majority of the funding. Nearly 67,000 students come from the lowest-income households, 44,412 come from low- to high-income families, and 20 come from the wealthiest group, according to the Oct. 29 data.

Roughly 45% of participating students are white; 27% are Hispanic; 11% are Black; and 6% are Asian/Pacific Islander.

By comparison, 24% of Texas public school students are white; 53% are Hispanic; 13% are Black; and 6% are Asian/Pacific Islander. About 60% of public school students are considered low-income, defined as a family of four earning $61,050 or less annually.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.