Good afternoon, y’all!

In today’s edition, you’ll find recent news surrounding private school vouchers, including a breakdown of new data that reveals who is applying for the program, and information on a new lawsuit the state is facing over discrimination within the voucher application process.

Don’t forget to check out last week’s edition if you missed it. 

Finally, whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent, I hope you’re either enjoying your Spring Break, or gearing up for some fun and relaxing time off next week!

Let’s get into it.

Photo via Getty Images

When Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s private school voucher program became law last year, proponents claimed it would give families who couldn’t normally afford private school tuition more education options. That’s not who is applying, according to new data. 

Around three in four of the over 150,000 applicants to the program are already enrolled in private schools or are home-schooled, according to data from the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency.

As of March 4, only around 36,000 families with students enrolled in Texas public schools submitted applications for the program. Texas has approximately 5.5 million students enrolled in public schools, which means that less than 1% of public school families have applied. See a breakdown of the data here.

Texas is following in the footsteps of other states that have implemented a voucher program. In Arkansas, 95% of participants in the state’s program did not attend public schools in the previous school year. In Arizona, data shows the use of vouchers is highest in affluent school districts, and lowest in poorer school districts.

At the end of 2025, Acting Comptroller of Public Accounts Kelly Hancock—who manages the voucher program—requested a legal opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, asking if he could exclude schools from the voucher program based on their connections to groups designated as “foreign terrorist organizations” or “foreign adversaries.”

In January, Paxton stated that he “stands ready to vigorously defend legal challenges to any lawful determination by the Comptroller’s Office aimed at preventing terrorists or our Nation’s enemies from abusing the TEFA program.”

To that end, Republicans have recently pushed anti-Islam rhetoric, including Abbott, who designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations—a Muslim civil rights group—as a terrorist organization. 

CAIR has sued Abbott over the label, calling it defamatory.

To date, more than 2,000 private schools have been accepted into the program, but no Islamic schools are known to have been accepted. 

In response, a Muslim parent has filed a federal lawsuit against the state for the exclusion of Islamic private schools from the program, claiming religious discrimination.

📚Newest Texas Senator opens office focused on reading: State Sen. Taylor Rehmet (D-Fort Worth) flipped a red Tarrant County Senate seat earlier this year with a campaign focused on fighting for public education. He recently opened his new office, which includes a reading program for young students. (NBC DFW)

🎓University officials aim to boost the number of college graduates living in San Antonio: Local college presidents in San Antonio have signed a pledge as part of a joint partnership with the economic development organization Greater SATX to increase the percentage of adults in the metro area with an associate’s degree or higher from 41.3% to 45% by 2030. (Texas Public Radio)

💰How much does Texas spend on its special education programs?: During the 2025 legislative session, Texas lawmakers aimed to fill a $1.7 billion funding gap between what districts spend and what the state supplies for schools to support students who need special services to learn. (Austin-American Statesman)

During the month of March, we’ll be reading “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas.  Here are some new questions to consider as you make your way through the book:

1. How does the media portray Khalil? What commentary is Thomas making about racial bias?

2. What role do microaggressiona play at Williamson Prep?

3. What does the book suggest about silence versus activism?

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Katie Serrano. The TexEd Report is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us. Donate here.

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