After reporting from The Texas Tribune, the office tasked with handing out vouchers clarified that families who do not complete a special education evaluation this year may have a chance to qualify for more funding in future years.
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.
Senate Bill 2 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.
In a Texas Tribune story 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.
Source: Jaden Edison,
Photo Credit: 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. Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune
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