Texas’s first year of universal school choice has raised a practical question for families: Does a voucher award translate into a school placement that meets a child’s needs? The McDaniels family’s experience in San Antonio illustrates the divide. Four of Nichole and Trevor McDaniel’s six school-aged children enrolled at Cornerstone Christian Schools this fall, but their son Gavin, who has autism and ADHD, was rejected by Cornerstone and another private school before enrolling in an online academy.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Cornerstone said it could not support Gavin’s needs. He now attends online Pathway Christian Preparatory Academy; his mother plans to bring him to Cornerstone for an in-person interview next year.
The state’s new Texas Education Freedom Accounts program launched this year under Senate Bill 2, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in May 2025 with a $1 billion maximum for program spending during the first two-year budget cycle, according to The Texas Tribune. Private schools accepting vouchers are not required to provide special education services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and religiously affiliated private schools are exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Disability Rights Texas. That leaves families navigating a private-school system with different obligations from public schools.
Thousands Forfeited Special Education Awards
State records obtained by The Dallas Morning News showed that nearly 7,400 of the 29,400 students with disabilities approved for TEFA vouchers—about 25%—returned or forfeited their awards because private schools rejected them or could not accommodate their needs. Students with disabilities made up one quarter of voucher awardees and were the first group to receive awards. The Comptroller began releasing award notifications April 22.
What families can challenge
Texas Education Agency guidance says the district where a private school is located determines whether a parentally placed student with a disability will receive IDEA equitable services. The guidance distinguishes that process from the public-school obligation to provide a free appropriate public education. The first-round timeline also gave families a set deadline to act: the Texas Comptroller said award recipients had until July 15 to confirm enrollment at a participating private school, select homeschool/other or opt out.
Even a Winning Outcome Carries a Price Tag
For the two McDaniel children who were accepted, Cornerstone’s price tag ran well above what the voucher covered. Cornerstone charges slightly more than $20,000 per student annually and also receives $11,000 per student from its affiliated church, according to the Express-News, which cited school administrator Andrea Freeman. With a 25% sibling discount and a $250 discount for children of military members, tuition for two of the McDaniel children, Mavis and Olive, totaled $21,655 — vouchers covered $20,948 of that, leaving the family owing $707. On top of that came a $125 application fee per child, roughly $600 in uniforms, $35 for art supplies, and about $15 a day in à la carte lunch costs for the children, per the newspaper’s reporting…