The Texas Comptroller's office clarified its interpretation of the state's school voucher law, potentially allowing students with disabilities to receive nearly $20,000 more annually in taxpayer funds. This clarification impacts eligibility based on special education evaluations, and the office is reviewing ways to assist families.
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If you find an error, email Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock, whose agency oversees the state's private school voucher program, answers a question during a Texas Republican candidate debate forum the Civic Center in Canton on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.The comptroller’s office on Thursday clarified its interpretation of Texas’ school voucher law in a way that could help students with disabilities qualify for nearly $20,000 more each year in taxpayer funds.provides families roughly $10,500 per year to pay for private school and $2,000 for home-schoolers. Students with disabilities can qualify for up to $30,000 — but only if they have received a special education evaluation from a public school. If families of children with disabilities do not complete the evaluation before voucher applications close Tuesday, state law does not expressly allow them to receive the extra funding in subsequent school years — even if they undergo an evaluation at a later date.published Thursday morning, the office of the comptroller — Texas’ chief financial officer who oversees the voucher program — agreed that students without an assessment appeared locked into the lower funding tier in future years. The office also said it would continue reviewing the law to determine how to accommodate those families.The key, comptroller spokesperson Travis Pillow said, is how the voucher law makes up to $30,000 available to a “child with a disability.” That definition applies only to students eligible to participate in a public school’s special education program, meaning, in part, they completed an evaluation. The comptroller’s office believes families who did not finish the assessment in time for the inaugural year of the voucher program could likely do so before next year’s sign-up period. For that to work, the Legislature would need to increase funding for the program. Otherwise the office would be limited in how it could free up money to accommodate students who qualify for more. However, the office’s narrow definition of a “child with a disability” to determine student funding levels does not align with its more expansive definition during the voucher application process. Under state law, students with disabilities receive priority access to vouchers when demand exceeds funding set aside for the program. But under rules developed by the comptroller, those students do not need a public school evaluation to receive priority. They only need medical documentation. The comptroller’s wishlist may also include the Legislature clarifying whether, for example, a home-school student who qualifies for $2,000 — and later transfers to a private school — could receive the $10,500 set for those children. Lawmakers may also need to consider, Pillow said, the evolving nature of learning disabilities and take that into account when determining funding eligibility.Some Texas parents did not realize they needed the evaluation until they started the voucher application during a 41-day window that opened Feb. 4. The situation has inundated public school districts with requests from private schools and prospective voucher parents trying to secure special education documentation. Once parents request an evaluation, districts have 15 school days to offer them an opportunity to provide written consent. Upon receiving consent, districts have 45 school days to complete the evaluation, followed by 30 calendar days for parents and educators to meet and develop an accommodation plan.Texans need the truth. Help us report it. Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?Texans need the truth. Help us report it. Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?Jaden Edison is the public education reporter for The Texas Tribune, where he previously worked as a reporting fellow in summer 2022. Before returning to the Tribune full time, he served as the justice...
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