EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Starting this week, Texas parents can apply for the state’s Education Freedom Accounts, a school voucher program designed to help cover costs for private schooling, homeschooling, and other educational expenses. Applications open Wednesday, allowing families to apply online through the state’s Education Freedom website. The program, established after the passage of Senate Bill 2, allocates $1 billion in state funding to support families opting for private or homeschool education over public schools.
Supporters argue that the program offers parents more control and choice in their children’s education. However, some parents express concerns about its impact on public education funding. “I really think that it’s a pretty terrible idea,” said one parent with children in the El Paso Independent School District. “I think that school choice and vouchers are going to end up defunding public education.”
Before signing the bill in May 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott addressed critics of the program, saying, “They make it sound like you can’t have school choice and robust public schools. That’s completely false. The reality is we can have the best public schools in America and also have school choice at the very same time.”…