Voucher, but no school to spend it on. TX students with disabilities returned aid

Texas Education Freedom Accounts promised more options for students with special needs. Some families say private schools said no or never responded.

Shundelon Ross hoped the seventh school would be the one to work.

Her son wandered the hallways, clutching his favorite stuffed animal. He threw high fives to the employees. He stared, mesmerized, at the chickens pecking around the coop.

Ross believed a private school would better serve her 5-year-old son, who has autism. Affording tuition became possible after he was approved for a school voucher. That’s why, as they toured First Baptist Academy in Dallas, her anticipation soared. After the visit came the application, then the admission decision. The school didn’t accept him.

The Texas Education Freedom Accounts promised vouchers would give students with special needs options beyond public schools. Despite being awarded taxpayer-funded accounts, many families struggled to find a suitable school to spend it on. This means private education is still out of reach for Texas’ most vulnerable children, critics of the voucher program say.

“Private does not always mean better,” Ross said. “With more opportunity, comes more work, more heartbreak, more disappointment.”

Proponents believe private schools will proliferate and meet demand. The comptroller’s office, which oversees TEFA, plans to survey families to understand why they opted out, and their responses will inform the improvements made to the program, a spokesperson said. It’s also possible parents were unaware of deadlines, considering public school, or moved out of state, he said.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.