Most of Texas鈥� school voucher applications came from white families and children who previously attended a private school or home-school.

The Texas comptroller鈥檚 office, which manages the program, released final applicant data Thursday evening, saying it will continue verifying information before admitting students in the coming months. The program will allow families to use taxpayer funds for private school or home-schooling costs.

Of the 274,183 Texans who applied for vouchers before Tuesday night鈥檚 deadline, 45% are white, 23% are Hispanic and 12% are Black. Low-income families make up 37% of applicants 鈥� defined by the program as a family of four earning $66,000 or less per year. Children with disabilities make up 16% of applicants.

For comparison, 24% of Texas 5.5 million public school students are white, 53% are Hispanic and 13% are Black. About 60% of students are considered low-income 鈥� defined in public education as a family of four earning $61,050 or less annually. Children with disabilities make up 16% of enrollment.

Meanwhile, about 75% of voucher applicants attended a private school or home-school during the 2024-25 academic year. The comptroller did not provide data on students鈥� current enrollment.

The state found nearly 25,000 voucher applications ineligible.

The applicant pool, while not fully reflective of the families who will ultimately receive voucher funds, indicates that taxpayer money will mostly flow to families who, before the program, had already committed to having their children educated in a private school or home-school.

During the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers and advocates as a benefit for low-income families and students with disabilities fed up with inadequate public schools. Of all applications, 63% came from middle- to high-income families 鈥� 27% of them making at or above $165,000 per year for a household of four.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not surprising that a state as big as Texas has more voucher applicants than other smaller states, especially with such a large marketing budget,鈥� Carrie Griffith, executive director of Our Schools Our Democracy, a public education advocacy group, said in a statement.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also not surprising that so few public school families have applied for a private school voucher,鈥� Griffith added. 鈥淧ublic schools deliver special education services, provide transportation, support extracurriculars, keep kids safe, and prepare them for life. They are one of Texas鈥檚 most effective, unifying public institutions. And the data remains undeniable: Most Texans want strong, fully funded public schools 鈥� not vouchers.鈥�

Travis Pillow, a spokesperson for the comptroller, said Texas anticipates having only enough funding to offer vouchers to children with disabilities and students from low- and middle-income families. Program participants, Pillow believes, will look different than the pool of applicants.

鈥淲e are working on a detailed report that captures all our outreach efforts for year 1, but we know there鈥檚 going to be more work to do to get the word out in year 2 and beyond,鈥� Pillow said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be looking for opportunities to reach more families we didn鈥檛 reach in year 1 and for ways to build trust in this new program.鈥�

In with voucher programs structured like Texas鈥�, white families with children previously in private school make up the majority of participants.

Most participating Texans with children in private schools will receive about $10,500 annually. Home-schoolers can receive up to $2,000 per year. Children with disabilities qualify for up to $30,000 鈥� an amount based on what it would cost to educate that child in a public school.

Demand for the program exceeds $1 billion in available funding, which means the state will conduct a lottery to determine who can receive vouchers. The state will consider, in order of priority:

• Students with disabilities and their siblings in families with an annual income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level, which includes a four-person household earning less than roughly $165,000 a year (12% of applicants).
• Families at or below 200% of the poverty level, which includes a four-person household earning less than roughly $66,000 (32% of applicants).
• Families between 200% and 500% of the poverty level (29% of applicants).
• Families at or above 500% of the poverty level (22% of applicants); these families can receive up to $200 million of the program鈥檚 total budget. Children who attended public school for at least 90% of the prior school year will receive priority within this group (5% of applicants).

Families must still find private schools 鈥� which are generally not required to accommodate students with disabilities 鈥� to accept their children. Whether families identify a private school will ultimately determine who receives voucher funding. Parents must have their children enrolled in a school by July 15.

Later this month, families will begin finding out if they can receive voucher funding. Most families applied to receive funding for pre-K, though the state deemed half of those applications ineligible.

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A Muslim parent has sued Texas leaders for excluding Islamic private schools from participating in the state鈥檚 private school voucher program.

The , filed March 1 by a parent acting on behalf of two children who attend a Houston private school, asks the court to block the voucher program from discriminating on the basis of religion. The suit names Texas Attorney General , Acting Comptroller and Education Commissioner Mike Morath as defendants.

Here鈥檚 what to know.

Background: Gov. signed into law in 2025, which authorized the creation of a statewide program that allows families to use public funds to pay for their children鈥檚 private school or home-school education.

Between Feb. 4 and March 17, virtually any family with school-age children in Texas to participate. Private schools interested in joining the program can apply on a rolling basis, as long as they have existed for at least two years and received accreditation.

More than 143,000 students have applied, while more than 2,100 private schools have been accepted.

Hancock 鈥� Texas鈥� chief financial officer who manages the voucher program 鈥� in late 2025 from 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.

Hancock said schools associated with the accreditation company Cognia had hosted events organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group that Gov. Greg Abbott recently designated a terrorist organization. CAIR has sued Abbott over the label, calling it defamatory and false. The U.S. State Department has not designated the organization a terrorist group.

Texas Republicans have made anti-Muslim rhetoric a during primary election season. Hancock, appointed by the governor on an interim basis, is running to serve a full term as comptroller.

Hancock shut hundreds of Cognia-accredited schools out of the voucher program, including those that primarily serve Muslim students, Christian students and children with disabilities, which the Houston Chronicle .

Paxton released in January stating his belief that Hancock has the authority to block certain schools from participating in the program if they are 鈥渋llegally tied to terrorists or foreign adversaries.鈥� To date, no Islamic schools are known to have been accepted into the state voucher program.

The comptroller鈥檚 office said it began inviting groups of Cognia schools that it considers in compliance with the law to participate, though it is unclear what that review entails.

In mid-February, Texas Senate Democrats Hancock to administer the program in a manner 鈥渘eutral, transparent and consistent with the law and to immediately cease discriminatory and exclusionary practices that single out certain communities without lawful justification.鈥�

Why the parent sued: Mehdi Cherkaoui, a Muslim father of two children and lawyer representing himself in the lawsuit, argued that state leaders 鈥渉ave systematically targeted Islamic schools for exclusion.鈥�

The Islamic schools blocked from joining the program meet the voucher program鈥檚 eligibility requirements and 鈥渉ave no actual connection to terrorism or unlawful activity,鈥� the lawsuit states. That includes Houston Qur’an Academy Spring, a private school attended by Cherkaoui鈥檚 two children.

Cherkaoui pays almost $18,000 per year in tuition for his children at the Houston private school and wants to apply for the nearly $10,500 per child in voucher funding to offset those costs, according to the lawsuit. But with Islamic schools blocked from participating in the program, the suit says, Cherkaoui cannot complete the application.

鈥淭he exclusion is not based on individualized findings of unlawful conduct by any specific school, but rather on categorical presumptions that Islamic schools are suspect and potentially linked to terrorism by virtue of their religious identity and community associations,鈥� the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit names Hancock, the comptroller, because of his role overseeing the program; Paxton, the attorney general, because of his legal opinion backing Hancock; and Morath, the education commissioner, because his agency works with the comptroller鈥檚 office on certain program conditions.

Morath does not oversee private schools in Texas, but schools in the voucher program must receive accreditation from organizations recognized by his agency or the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission.

Before the voucher program鈥檚 March 17 deadline for family applications, the lawsuit asks that the court require the state to accept all Islamic schools that meet program requirements and prevent the state from delaying or denying approval based on schools鈥� religious identity, alleged “Islamic ties,” or 鈥済eneralized associations with Islamic civil-rights or community organizations absent individualized, adjudicated findings of unlawful conduct.鈥�

Hancock, Paxton and Morath did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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About 55,000 students are on a waitlist to receive Opportunity Scholarships, North Carolina’s private school voucher program.

Parents rallied on Wednesday to urge the legislature to pass . The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this year, would provide $248 million nonrecurring for the upcoming school year and $215.5 million recurring to support scholarships in the 2025-26 school year.

鈥淧arents watched in utter frustration on July 4 when legislature left town without solving this problem. So parents woke up and said,鈥榃e are not going to take this lying down,’鈥� Rachel Brady, an organizer of the rally, said.

The House and the Senate adjourned without passing a budget for this year. The two chambers have not been able to agree about investments in both the expansion of voucher and public schools.

鈥淭he concern that members have had is that they want to make sure that if we鈥檙e talking about education, that we鈥檙e doing so comprehensively, that we鈥檙e also addressing the traditional schools as well,鈥� House Speaker Tim Moore .

Gov. Roy Cooper urging leaders and communities to support public schools. In other conservative states, cross-partisan agreements have led to investments in both. And conservative leaders are raising concerns about vouchers for the wealthy as well as the disproportionate investment of dollars in urban areas.

In the debate on the bill in a Senate committee, where it passed, legislators discussed and debated the impact on rural counties. According to , in 11 rural counties in North Carolina there are no private schools while in Mecklenburg County there are 96 private schools and in Wake County there are 91 private schools.

Parents urge lawmakers to clear waitlists

The parents at the rally delivered to Senate Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore expressing their discontent.

鈥淭he Opportunity Scholarship gave us needed relief by opening up great educational opportunities for our children,鈥� the letters said.

鈥淧lease act now to clear the waiting list of 55,000 students seeking school choice. Since school has started for some and tuition payments are due, we ask that you make funding retroactive,鈥� the letter continued.

鈥淔amilies are going to need this in the middle of rapid inflation. Working class families at the grocery store are making choices as to what they can buy. And this is hitting us right at home, hitting the people that are needing it most,鈥� said Brady, the organizer.

Caroline Cox is a parent on the waitlist. 鈥淲hen we found out that all of the funding would not come through for families across the state, we were so discouraged by that,鈥� Cox said at the rally. 鈥淲e really feel after our experience with our kids, that every family in North Carolina — everyone — should have the choice to choose where to send their kids.鈥�

Mary Ellen Merry, another parent at the rally, said that while she works at a public school, she enjoys having her daughter at a different school. She said all families should have an option.

鈥淥ur government supports financially the public schools. But I think as parents, we all pay into the system. And we should be able to choose where some of our money goes to,鈥� Merry said.

鈥淪o that tells me two things,” said Moore. “One, it’s amazing to me the amount of support and interest there is, I love it. Second, there鈥檚 a commitment there.”

鈥淪o the key is,” Moore said, “how do we balance making sure we take care of our priorities and not holding parents up because school starts in a few weeks?鈥�

Down the hall, Berger told the parents to convince their House representatives.

鈥淲e sent them a bill back in May that does nothing but clear the list, forward funds, everything,鈥� Berger said. 鈥淎ll they have to do is take one vote.鈥�

The legislature briefly reconvened this week and will continue to meet throughout the rest of the year. You can find their schedule .

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Partnership for Educational Choice, a group that 鈥渄efends educational choice nationwide,鈥� filed a motion this week asking to join the defense of challenging the constitutionality of a new school voucher program.

Four guardians of public school students filed the earlier this month in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. The plaintiffs asked a judge to block enforcement of the Education Freedom Account Program created by the . The complaint alleges that using funds intended for public schools elsewhere violates a Constitutional provision.

The complaint also contends, 鈥淚f implemented, the LEARNS Act will drain valuable and necessary resources from the public school system and create a separate and unequal school system that discriminates between children based on economic, racial and physical characteristics and capabilities.鈥�

Current defendants include Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, the Arkansas State Board of Education and Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson.

Partnership for Educational Choice is described as 鈥渁 joint project of the  and .鈥� Both of the listed organizations are nonprofits with a history of defending school voucher programs like the one Sanders championed in 2023.

If the from Partnership for Educational Choice is approved, attorneys would represent three Arkansas mothers who currently use 鈥� or intend to use 鈥� the voucher program, according to a press release. Those mothers are Erika Lara of Little Rock, Katie Parrish of Paragould and Nikita Glendenning of Van Buren.

鈥淏efore I received my Education Freedom Account, my son was being bullied and struggling academically, but now I have the resources to put him into a school where he鈥檚 thriving,鈥� Lara said in a press release. 鈥淭aking away this program would put my son鈥檚 academic and social progress in jeopardy.鈥�

More than 5,400 Arkansas students participated in the first year of the program, which is being phased in over three years. Participation will be capped at about 14,000 students for the 2024-2025 school year. Around $6,600 in state funding was available to each student last year. That will increase to nearly $6,900 this year.

Lawmakers $97.5 million for the state鈥檚 voucher program for the 2025 fiscal year. The program could cost upwards of in its third year when it鈥檚 available to all Arkansas students, the state finance department has estimated.

Among the reasons for intervention, the motion notes the mothers鈥� interest in the program is 鈥渋nextricably intertwined with their fundamental liberty interest in 鈥榙irecting the upbringing and education鈥� of their children.鈥�

Lara and Parrish each have one child that has switched schools using the Education Freedom Account Program. The motion notes that if the program is struck down, the women would be left in a difficult financial situation. Glendenning intends to use the program for two of her four children during the 2025-2026 school year.

鈥淒espite repeated court rulings that these types of programs are constitutional, opponents of educational choice continue to attack these programs,鈥� said Ed Choice Vice President and Director of Litigation Thomas M. Fisher in a press release. 鈥淲e look forward to defending this program and making clear that it is constitutional.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on and .

The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday approved a a voucher-like program for schools after a debate lasting over four hours.

, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville and known as the CHOOSE Act, passed the House on a 69-34 vote. Six Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

Supporters of the bill said it would give opportunities to students in struggling schools to find better education.

鈥淭he CHOOSE Act will provide an opportunity for students to learn and thrive in an environment that best meets their needs, which could be a public school,鈥� said Garrett during the debate Tuesday.

Opposition to the bill came mostly from Democrats, who said that the bill would destroy public education in Alabama. Some likened the bill to a form of modern-day segregation.

Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, cited his experience during desegregation of schools in Hale County in the late 1960鈥檚 and early 1970鈥檚, when private schools serving mostly white students were built in response to federal desegregation orders. He said he was worried that the Legislature would be using tax dollars 鈥渢o create separation.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not that history tends to repeat itself, but that people tend to repeat history,鈥� Travis said.

The legislation would allow households with school-age children to claim up to $7,000 in tax credits to be spent on certain education-related expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring or education services for children with disabilities.

The Legislature must appropriate at least $100 million for the program each year. The first 500 spots are reserved for students with special needs, defined by individualized education plans (IEP) or 504 plans.

The program will initially be limited to families making less than 300% of the federal poverty line, or around $75,000 for a family of three, but it would give priority to households with lower incomes. The funds would eventually be made available to all households. The special needs-reserved spots are not limited to the income level.

While Democrats have always opposed voucher and voucher-like legislation, Republicans from rural areas have also tended to be wary of voucher bills out of fear it would divert resources from their local schools.

Reps. Alan Baker, R-Brewton; Tracy Estes, R-Winfield; Chris Sells, R-Greenville; Randall Shedd, R-Fairview; David Standridge, R-Hayden and Tim Wadsworth, R-Arley voted with Democrats against the bill.

House Education Policy Committee Chair Terri Collins, R-Decatur, who introduced the legislation on the House floor, said the bill had 鈥渁 lot guardrails鈥� that protect public schools, such as allowing parents to judge school performance by comparing students鈥� results with those of students around the nation.

鈥淚 like accountability. I see that in this bill,鈥� Collins said.

Democrats remained skeptical. Rep. Sam Jones, D-Mobile, echoed Travis and said that the legislation could promote segregation.

鈥淲hat we have here, as I said earlier, is a real experiment, and for the sake of the kids in this state, I hope it works,鈥� Jones said.

Garrett rejected the argument that the legislation could promote segregation, at one point saying that 鈥渨e need to move past that.鈥�

Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, said that 鈥渁ccountability and transparency is not equal in this bill.鈥� Private and public schools are governed by different rules, Drummond said.

鈥淭he same rules ought to apply to both public and private school, so we鈥檒l have apples and apples. Right now, this legislation doesn鈥檛 do that,鈥� Drummond said, adding that they don鈥檛 know if teachers in the private schools will be certified.

Garrett also blocked attempts by more conservative lawmakers to expand the program.

Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Hills, said he was concerned the legislation does not give parents enough choice and offered an amendment that would have provided that education service providers do not have to be approved by the Alabama Department of Revenue. The amendment was tabled 85-11.

鈥淥pening this up to all children would be an amazing thing for this state,鈥� Mooney said, adding that the amendment would allow any child to 鈥渃ompete鈥� for the educational savings account.

Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, offered another amendment that would have allowed the funds to be used for 鈥渕icro鈥� or hybrid schools. That amendment was tabled 82-9.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important that we stand for the heart of what this bill is trying to accomplish,鈥� Yarbrough said.

Rep. Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont, offered an amendment that would have expanded the allowed use of the funds in the educational savings account. The amendment would have allowed the money to be used for vocational or GED training; purchasing computer hardware and school uniforms, and transportation. It was also tabled 82-7.

鈥淣o two students, no two children are alike. They have different needs and different aptitude,鈥� Robinson said.

Amy Marlowe, executive director of the Alabama Education Association, said in a statement Tuesday that while the association has worked with 鈥渙thers in a good faith way to fashion a bill that does not hurt Alabama schools,鈥� a majority of Alabamians across the political spectrum oppose 鈥渦nlimited funding being diverted from the Education Trust Fund for this program.鈥�

鈥淲e want to continue to work to find common ground on this proposal as the bill moves to the Senate, but a cap must be included in the bill to protect the future of our local schools, or it should not pass,鈥� she said in the statement.

The bill moves to the Senate.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

LINCOLN 鈥� The next front in Nebraska鈥檚 school choice fight could shift toward a proposal by State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair under which the state would deposit $1,500 a year per student into a new type of state-managed savings account for parents and guardians of students attending private K-12 schools.

Using the language of national school choice advocates, Hansen said his goal is to 鈥渇und students, not systems.鈥� He said he has seen other states such as Iowa and Arizona use similar plans to subsidize private school costs.

鈥淧arents are the primary educators of their children, not the government,鈥� he told the Legislature鈥檚 Education Committee on Tuesday. 鈥淥ur role should assist parents in that job.鈥�

would let people use the funds for private school tuition, textbooks, school supplies, therapies, books and academic materials approved by the Nebraska Board of Education. The new educational savings accounts for approved or accredited private K-12 schools would begin in the 2025-26 school year.

The accounts would be overseen by the Nebraska State Treasurer鈥檚 Office. But the accounts would offer no tax advantages like the tax-free 529 college savings plans the Treasurer鈥檚 Office currently oversees. Instead, under LB 1386, these accounts would act as pass-throughs for state appropriations into a school choice fund that would be created, invested and managed by the state.

One Fremont-area father testified about his difficulties getting a public school to accept his option-enrollment daughter with moderate hearing loss, because she had an individualized education program, or IEP. He and others said the voucher program would make it easier for them to afford private school.

Opponents testified that they wanted public dollars spent on public schools.

Critics point to constitution

The fiscal note said if 80% of Nebraska鈥檚 33,611 private school students applied for the fund it could cost the state $40 million.

The note also estimated the State Treasurer鈥檚 Office would need $300,000 to administer the accounts. That includes the costs of an auditor to make sure the funds are properly spent.

Critics of the voucher push said the plan would violate the Nebraska Constitution鈥檚 Article VII, Section 11, which says, 鈥淣o appropriation or grant of public funds or property shall be made to any educational institution which is not owned and controlled by the state or a governmental subdivision thereof.鈥�

Royers said private schools would receive public money, an issue opponents raised last year about the new Opportunity Scholarship Act.

Hansen, reached after the hearing, disagreed. He and State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that state funds can be used this way three times. He explained the Nebraska workaround: The state will be giving state tax dollars to parents and not to private schools, he said.

He said he proposed starting with $1,500 a year because that鈥檚 how much state lawmakers funded last year as a baseline level of state aid per public school student. Iowa last session expanded its student savings account for private school students to the full cost of state aid per K-12 student, $7,598 a year.

Royers said other states starting similar voucher programs have learned that the programs largely help offset the costs of students already attending private schools. He said they don鈥檛 often create a large influx of new students from public schools who couldn鈥檛 otherwise afford to attend. Private school students in Iowa and elsewhere often see large increases in private school tuition rates once state support increases, he said.

And the funding lost to public schools leaves public school students and districts in worse shape, Royers said.

鈥淲e should be learning from the mistakes coming out of other states鈥�,鈥� Royers said. 鈥淭his does not help needy families. It helps private schools.鈥�

Wayne questions Royers

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, a school choice advocate, asked Royers why it was OK for the state to subsidize private preschool education and private higher education but not K-12.

鈥淚s there something special about those years?鈥� he asked, after Royers did not answer the first few times he asked.

A representative of the Holland Children鈥檚 Movement shared data from its 2023 poll indicating more than 60% of Nebraskans opposed subsidizing private schools with public funding.

Linehan and Education Committee Chairman Dave Murman said they had seen polling that found the opposite, indicating broad statewide support for school choice programs.

鈥淚t depends on how you ask the question,鈥� Linehan said.

Hansen expects the bill to reach the legislative floor this session. Bill opponents, including the NSEA, say they will be ready.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on and .

In his final go, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb wants to double down on K-12 literacy initiatives and bolster workforce training but won鈥檛 seek specific policy related to growing concerns around .

His reading plan could result in holding thousands more third-graders back a year in school.

The Republican governor on Monday unveiled his 2024 agenda, the last in his eight-year term. His policy goals additionally emphasize a need for expanded pre-K and childcare voucher eligibility, as well as increased access to disaster relief at the local level.

Specifically, Holcomb鈥檚 agenda targets earlier access to IREAD-3 testing and ensuring Hoosier students are mastering foundational literacy skills. The latest reading scores showed that .

Currently, the IREAD-3 exam is only required in third grade. The governor鈥檚 administration is hoping to require testing in second grade, too. Doing so could help teachers and parents better identify struggling students and implement additional supports 鈥� such as through summer school or after-school tutoring 鈥� before kids get too far behind.

Students who fail the standardized exam can already be held back, but there are exceptions if a child is disabled or an English-language learner.

State officials 鈥� including Holcomb 鈥� maintain that too many Indiana third graders who can鈥檛 adequately read are advancing to the fourth grade. His agenda seeks to tighten up the state鈥檚 retention policy to require third grade students who fail IREAD-3 to be held back for at least one year, starting in 2025.

None of Holcomb鈥檚 priorities would require lawmakers to reopen the biennial state budget during the short legislative session, however.

鈥淯ltimately, this (agenda) will be very interactive 鈥� looking through a lens of our customers, citizens and local leaders 鈥� how they may access all the programs that the legislature, year after year after year, appropriates dollars to. These are programs that really do make a difference,鈥� he said during an agenda announcement at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually impaired in Indianapolis. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a local government or philanthropic organizations or local leaders, some don鈥檛 know about some of the programs. And so, how can we better connect chambers, local leaders, etcetera, in a very easy way?鈥�

Indiana鈥檚 General Assembly reconvened Monday for the start of the 2024 session.

Legislative leaders they鈥檙e not taking on new and controversial subjects, promising a 鈥渜uieter鈥� non-budget session.

While Holcomb鈥檚 agenda is closely aligned with goals expressed last month by Republican legislative leaders, his policy recommendations leave out issues like Medicaid reimbursement rates, gambling, and regulation of large water transfers.

Improving literacy

An 鈥� with the force of law 鈥� dictates Indiana鈥檚 existing third grade retention policy.

According to data from the Indiana Department of Education, in 2023, 13,840 third-graders did not pass I-READ-3. Of those, 5,503 received an exemption and 8,337 did not. Of those without an exemption, 95% moved onto 3rd grade while only 412 were retained.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said Monday that adding a legislative piece will make clear what retention means, and include 鈥渢he proactive approaches鈥� schools should implement in kindergarten, first and second grades.

鈥淭his will just really add clarity for the state and also help us stay laser focused on the fact that we have to have students reading by the end of third grade,鈥� Jenner continued, although she said the state board of education could make changes on its own, if it had to. 鈥淏ut I think there is a significant appetite with both the House and the Senate to look at potential legislation options.鈥�

Holcomb鈥檚 goal is that 95% of students in third grade can read proficiently by 2027. State officials said they can still meet that mark 鈥� but only if immediate changes and early-warning systems are put in place.

A pilot program spearheaded by the state education department has already helped hundreds of Indiana schools administer IREAD-3 to second graders as a way to help parents and teachers determine if reading interventions are needed for younger students before they take the exam.

The 2022-23 school year was the second year schools could opt-in. The test 鈥� likely to rebranded as 鈥淚READ鈥� 鈥� was taken by almost 46,000 second graders. That鈥檚 up from about 20,000 second graders who tested the year before.

鈥淚t is a very, very popular option for schools because it provides whether the child can read, whether they鈥檙e on track, or whether they鈥檙e potentially at risk, and it provides that data at a younger age,鈥� Jenner said. 鈥淭hat then can be used by the parent and the teacher to best support that child鈥檚 learning in the future.鈥�

State officials noted that many students are expected to receive additional reading help during the summer.

Funding for summer school 鈥� equal to about $18.4 million per year under the current state budget 鈥� is mostly going toward students taking physical education and health courses in the summer, Jenner said.

鈥淲hat an opportunity we have to better leverage that funding on the students who are not able to read or may not have numeracy skills,鈥� she emphasized, adding that, for now, policymakers want to 鈥渇ocus on the current budget line that we have,鈥� rather than appropriating new funds.

Although Jenner, Holcomb and Republican state legislative leaders have said that high rates of absenteeism are likely contributing to , policy to address student attendance and chronic absenteeism is not included in Holcomb鈥檚 agenda.

that about 40% of students statewide missed 10 or more school days last year, and nearly one in five were 鈥渃hronically absent鈥� for at least 18 days.

Even so, Holcomb said Monday that he will 鈥減articipate in the discussion that the legislators might have鈥� about attendance.

鈥淚 plead with parents to not underestimate the impact that your child not being in school has on them adversely, long-term. 鈥� We鈥檙e past COVID now, and so parents need to understand the adverse impact of keeping their child out of school,鈥� the governor said. 鈥淭here just is a correlation. I don鈥檛 think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that the less time you鈥檙e (in school), the less you鈥檙e going to learn.鈥�

鈥淲e want to make sure that in this discussion of chronic absenteeism, that what we鈥檙e doing is going to make a difference,鈥� Holcomb continued. 鈥淎nd I will continue to use my platform to plead with parents, begging them to make sure if their child can be in school, they need to be.鈥�

The governor鈥檚 priorities also call for a mandatory computer science course to be completed by students before graduating high school. He additionally wants to task Indiana鈥檚 public colleges and universities with offering more three-year bachelor鈥檚 degrees, and make it easier for students to earn two-year associate degrees at the state鈥檚 four-year institutions.

Expanding child care

A multi-part plan to expand early childhood education and child care options is also high on Holcomb鈥檚 agenda.

The governor鈥檚 plan aims to increase the number of child care and early education providers across Indiana by adding credentialing training to state-sponsored grant programs and making more employees of child care entities eligible for On My Way Pre-K and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers.

Holcomb鈥檚 administration further wants to reduce the minimum age of caregivers; from 21 to 18 for infant and toddler caregivers, and from 18 to 16 for supervised caregivers in school-aged classrooms.

鈥淲e know that to accommodate more kiddos in early learning environments, we need to have more workers there,鈥� Holcomb said. 鈥淒ropping age limits down 鈥� that doesn鈥檛 mean dropping standards down. We think with the proper training and standards in place and oversight 鈥� you should qualify and be eligible to work there.鈥�

Accessing disaster relief

Holcomb said Monday he will also work with legislators to help Hoosiers gain easier access to funds in the wake of both man-made and natural disasters.

Broadly, that means increasing the amount of relief dollars individual counties can receive, in addition to making it easier for individual Hoosiers to access aid.

The governor鈥檚 plan includes a proposal to allow some dollars from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to help local units implement hazard mitigation plans that assist in protecting against future damages. Mitigation could come in the form of newly-built tornado shelters or participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, for example.

Counties with such plans in place could also qualify for increased reimbursement after a disaster.

Holcomb鈥檚 administration is also seeking to bump the maximum potential award for individual assistance from $10,000 to $25,000. Those funds can help Hoosiers with post-disaster damages and debris removal, among other needs.

Holcomb said he鈥檚 confident the state can afford to increase available aid, noting that Indiana鈥檚 disaster relief fund is financed by firework sales.

There would still be caps on how much could be dispersed, however, which officials said helps ensure the state fund isn鈥檛 depleted.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on and .

The academic year is already underway at Clear Spring School, one of 94 schools participating in the inaugural year of Arkansas鈥� education voucher program.

Head of School Jessica FitzPatrick said the nearly 50-year-old independent school in Eureka Springs is participating in the Educational Freedom Account Program to alleviate financial barriers faced by some families.

鈥淥ne of our stated goals is social justice and socioeconomic access to independent schools鈥he EFA program is worthwhile to us because I feel like that鈥檚 really important, that socioeconomics not prevent a family from making the choice to send their child here,鈥� FitzPatrick said.

Created through , the EFA program provides state funds for allowable educational expenses, including private school tuition. Approximately $6,600 will be available per account for the 2023-2024 school year. The average cost of tuition at EFA schools is around $7,600.

Clear Spring School鈥檚 tuition ranges from roughly $9,500 to $11,500, but FitzPatrick said the progressive school provides scholarships that are supported through fundraising efforts. FitzPatrick estimates 75% to 80% of students receive financial assistance.

If students access EFA funds instead of school-supported scholarships, Fitzpatrick said Clear Spring could instead use the money it raises to support other initiatives, such as increasing teacher pay. Teacher salaries at the Eureka Springs school range from $25,000 to $35,000, she said.

The LEARNS Act raised the minimum teacher salary for public school teachers to $50,000. Private schools are not required to meet this minimum.

鈥淎s an independent school and having to fund our school entirely, I think raising teacher salaries is really important,鈥� FitzPatrick said.

Easterseals Academy, a private school in Little Rock that serves students with disabilities, is raising its tuition from $10,650 to $14,250 in an effort to remain competitive with teacher pay. As a result, the school and its families are fundraising to help cover the increase.

Allison Grigsby Sweatman鈥檚 son is an Easterseals student with Down Syndrome. He鈥檚 being grandfathered into the EFA program as a Succeed Scholarship recipient, and while the funds will help with tuition, Grigsby Sweatman said she doesn鈥檛 support a universal voucher program.

鈥淲henever that is the end goal, we will always be defunding public schools where a lot of kids with disabilities are going to have to be no matter what because they won鈥檛 have proximity or there won鈥檛 be space to a school that can meet their needs,鈥� she said.

A voucher system doesn鈥檛 address the issue of special education being underfunded in Arkansas for years, Grigsby Sweatman said.

鈥淲e need to be investing in robust, innovative public special education statewide,鈥� she said.

Grigsby Sweatman is a former Democratic candidate for the Arkansas Legislature.

Participation rates

Aug. 1 marked the deadline for schools and students to participate in the inaugural year of the EFA program. Students may continue applying on a rolling basis, but their acceptance will be contingent upon available funds.

The Arkansas Department of Education allocated $46.7 million in state funds for the first year of the voucher program. The department will disburse the funds for qualifying students directly to a participating school or service provider in quarterly installments, according to the program鈥檚 emergency rules. ADE may withhold up to 5% of funds allocated for each EFA for the purpose of program administration.

As of Friday, 4,152 of 4,880 applicants had received approval to participate in the EFA Program. Approximately 12% of applicants are Succeed Scholarship recipients, according to ADE spokeswoman Kimberly Mundell.

The EFA program absorbed the Succeed Scholarship Program, which provided about $7,400 for private school tuition to students with disabilities, as well as students in foster care living in a group home or facility, and students that are children of military members.

Students who participated in the Succeed Scholarship during the 2022-2023 school year will continue to receive the scholarship amount awarded to them, according to the LEARNS Act.

The EFA program will be phased in over three years with this year鈥檚 participation capped at 1.5% of enrollment, or around 7,000 students, according to ADE officials. First year eligibility is limited to one of six criteria, including having a disability or entering kindergarten for the first time.

Of the current applicants, 38% are students with disabilities, 32% are first-time kindergarteners, 6% are foster children, 4% are children of active duty members, 1% are students experiencing homelessness and 1% are students enrolled in a 鈥淔鈥�-rated school or school in need of Level 5 support, according to ADE.

Patrick Wolf, head of the University of Arkansas鈥� Department of Education Reform, that when the program has universal eligibility in three years, he expects to see a large increase in participation by students already in private schools. This would mirror the experience in Arizona, which became the first state to offer this type of universal program in 2022.

The Arizona Department of Education last year 75% of students enrolled in its Empowerment Scholarship Account program had previously been attending private school.

Mundell said she doesn’t know how many EFA applicants were already enrolled in private school because ADE does not track that information.

All but one of the 94 schools that applied to the program are located in Arkansas. The Madonna Learning Center is located in Germantown, Tenn., and was previously approved as a Succeed Scholarship Program school by ADE.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is pleased with the amount of students and schools participating in the inaugural year of the program, communication director Alexa Henning said in an email.

“The Governor is excited that starting this school year nearly 5,000 Arkansas students and 94 schools are participating in Education Freedom Accounts giving our kids access to the best education that fits their needs,” Henning said. “The Governor wants to empower every parent in Arkansas to determine what is best to put their child on a path to success.”

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on and .

The court鈥檚 conservative majority handed down in favor of the plaintiffs, a group of parents who argued that their preferred schools were unconstitutionally excluded from Maine鈥檚 state tuition initiative. The case, Carson v. Makin, focused on the question of whether such programs 鈥� which pay for children to attend private schools in cases where their own rural communities don鈥檛 have public high schools 鈥� can mandate that only 鈥渘onsectarian schools鈥� be included.

Attorneys debated the ruling鈥檚 scope, with some asserting that it could pave the way for publicly funded charter schools with openly religious orientations.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts argued that explicitly prohibiting families from using public dollars to pay for tuition at religious schools amounted to a violation of the First Amendment鈥檚 free exercise clause, which upholds the liberty of citizens to practice their religion as they see fit.

鈥淭he State pays tuition for certain students at private schools 鈥� so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion,鈥� Roberts wrote. 鈥淎 State鈥檚 antiestablishment interest does not justify enactments that exclude some members of the community from an otherwise generally available public benefit because of their religious exercise.鈥�

In this, Roberts echoed his own 2020 ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. That case similarly concerned a state tax-credit scholarship that sought to prevent recipients from choosing parochial schools. Many legal scholars believed the 5-4 decision called into serious question the applicability of 鈥渘o-aid provisions鈥� in state constitutions (sometimes referred to as Blaine amendments), which forbid state funds from supporting churches or other religious institutions.

The plaintiffs in Carson, who wished to send their children to Christian schools in Bangor and Waterville, were represented by lawyers from the Institute for Justice, a prominent libertarian law firm. Lead attorney Michael Bindas said that the ruling was somewhat limited because in most states, voucher or other private school choice programs already permit the participation of religious schools.

But it could still impact the future adoption of such programs in state legislatures, Bindas argued. Often, detractors argue that the provision of public funds to religious institutions is simply unconstitutional. Carson 鈥渢akes that argument off the table completely,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t makes absolutely clear that a state can have a school choice program, and if it does, it has to remain neutral between religion and non-religion. It cannot exclude a parent’s choice of school simply because it is religious or teaches religion. Therefore this argument that religion must be excluded 鈥� or that a program is somehow impermissible because it includes religion 鈥� is just a non-issue now.

John Taylor, a law professor at the West Virginia University College of Law, said the decision further weakened the existing precedent set in the 2004 Locke v. Davey case, in which a majority argued that the state of Washington could prevent beneficiaries of a publicly funded college scholarship from studying to become pastors. Given both Espinoza and Tuesday鈥檚 decision, Taylor said, the scope of that litigation is now considerably narrowed.

鈥淎fter today鈥檚 opinion, Locke is just a case saying states may refuse to fund the training of ministers,鈥� he wrote in an email. 鈥淎side from the narrow factual context of Locke, the law now leaves no room for states that wish to require a greater degree of separation between church and state than the Federal Constitution requires.鈥�

But a further controversy will outlast the debate over voucher and tax-credit programs. Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, in a dissent, posed a question that also hung over earlier decisions: If states can no longer discriminate against private religious academies when disbursing aid, could public schools 鈥� most notably charter schools 鈥� also decide to adopt religious missions?

鈥淲hat happens once 鈥榤ay鈥� becomes 鈥榤ust鈥�?鈥� Breyer asked. 鈥淒oes that transformation mean that a school district that pays for public schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to send their children to religious schools? Does it mean that school districts that give vouchers for use at charter schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to give their children a religious education?鈥�

Bindas called that possibility an 鈥渦nwarranted concern.鈥�

鈥淧ublic schools, including charter schools, are public; the government not only can, but must ensure that public schools are non-religious,鈥� he observed. 鈥淭he issue arises when the government has a program that includes private options, and it’s at that point that government cannot single out and exclude religious private options.鈥�

But Derek Black, a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School and frequent critic of education reform, wrote in an email that states might have to dismantle their entire apparatus of school choice programs in order to prevent them from being exploited by religious operators.

鈥淭his case throws fuel on the fire of those arguing that states must allow churches to operate public charter schools and teach religion as truth inside of them,鈥� Black argued. 鈥淚f that comes to fruition, states will have lost all control over the education they try to ensure for children, even in charter schools that call themselves public. That possibility is so radical 鈥� and radically at odds with public interests 鈥� that the only responsible choice for states is to entirely shut down their charter and voucher school programs, lest the state be forced to fund education that does not align with state values and curriculum.鈥�