Texas families using state school choice accounts face uncertainty over funding for future school years as Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa (D) promises to end the program.
That pledge has not changed the published payment schedule for the current school year. Repeal requires lawmakers, and future funding depends on the budget process.
Jazmin Duran moved three children from a charter school to St. Rita Catholic School in Fort Worth after they received Texas Education Freedom Accounts, North Texas Catholic reported on September 11.
“But when I got in my car, I remember I called my mom, and I just started crying,” Duran told the publication about receiving the awards.
St. Rita Principal Kindra Johnston reported enrollment of 153 students, up from 114 at the end of the previous school year.
Hinojosa’s education platform promises to end the program and direct the money to public schools. She said she would support legislation repealing its private-school portion in a campaign interview KPRC 2 reported Thursday.
“I don’t have the option of cherry-picking or pocket-vetoing laws that the legislature passes,” Eckhardt told the Chronicle.
What current law provides
The program’s published awards provide $10,474 for participating private-school students, up to $30,000 total for those with qualifying individualized education programs, and $2,000 for homeschool and other qualifying students. A disability diagnosis alone does not guarantee the maximum award. Families use restricted account balances to pay approved education expenses.
Under the published schedule, private-school students receive 25% in July, another 25% in October and the remaining half on February 1, 2027, provided they remain enrolled in a participating school. That final installment equals $5,237 for a standard award. Homeschool students receive their annual award in one installment.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, October marked the second payment period. February 1 is the agency’s announced date; SB 2 sets April 1 as the final-installment deadline. Late entrants may receive prorated awards.
The October 1 state report counted 116,574 funded student accounts, compared with approximately 274,000 applications. The state counts participation after an account receives funding, not simply when it offers an award. About 62% of participants lived in households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
What changing the program requires
Repeal or changes to eligibility set by statute would require legislation through both chambers. Republicans’ projected Senate majority gives them the votes to block repeal.
Future funding presents a separate fight. The current budget provides $1 billion through the biennium ending August 31, 2027. Lawmakers decide subsequent appropriations, which they could reduce or omit without repealing the underlying law. The next two-year budget begins September 1, 2027, overlapping the 2027-28 school year.
Hinojosa could veto future appropriation items. The Texas Constitution does not let her retroactively veto the current budget. Overriding an appropriation-item veto requires two-thirds of members present in both chambers while the Legislature remains in session.
Eckhardt can administer audits and compliance requirements within the law. Those powers do not authorize repeal by announcement.
Participants in good standing continue without a new annual application, but continued eligibility does not guarantee future funding. Families must confirm continued participation. Unused balances carry forward unless an account must close.
Current guidance permits advance tuition payments, including for 2027-28. If a child stops participating, the school must return those advance payments to the state.
Hinojosa’s platform does not say whether she would protect existing participants during a phaseout. That leaves families waiting to learn whether the support behind their school decisions will continue.
Provided by Dallas Express
