A headshot of former Texas representative Glenn Rogers. Below his photo is the headline "Former Texas lawmaker Glenn Rogers joins Our Schools Our Democracy Board of Directors"
Our Schools Our Democracy is excited to welcome former Texas lawmaker Glenn Rogers to our Board of Directors.
Read our full release: osod.org/former-texas...
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VOUCHERS: Digging Into the Data. Follow the facts on Texas' $1B taxpayer-funded program. ⬇️
Read more: bit.ly/4vpfe4D
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Out today: “The board made it clear at the board meeting that they were being pressured or threatened by TEA … that the district is under threat of takeover if they don’t make some pretty big changes, and Third Future is the only authorized turnaround partner from TEA.”
A list of news articles about vouchers under the heading "ICYMI: This week in TX voucher news." All links are available using the hyperlink in the post.
VOUCHERS: Who Applied & What's Next? Follow the facts on Texas’ $1B taxpayer-funded program. ⬇️
Read more: bit.ly/48erFWS
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Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, said the Florida school's approval goes back to a key question she has been asking about the voucher program: “Who's benefiting: private entities or the Texas public?”
The text reads "OSOD April Insider. Texas voucher applications closed yesterday after a rocky process marked by ongoing legal cases, confusion over eligibility, and changing rules on documentation to qualify for special education funding. Through our new Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, OSOD continues to ensure that Texans have timely, credible information about who the voucher program benefits and how it affects public school communities." Below the text are five photos showing OSOD staff at presentations and community events across Texas.
Did you miss the OSOD April Insider?
Catch up on the latest news and updates: osod.org/april-news-a...
Breaking: The Texas comptroller’s office said Tuesday that it has approved all eligible Islamic schools that applied to participate in the voucher program.
The text reads "It’s premature to judge the results of a program until Texans know who will actually receive funding and if it will improve academic outcomes for children. Early data shows that 75% of all applicants were not enrolled in public school while applicants are significantly less racially diverse than Texas public school students. Most importantly, applications do not guarantee admission. Families may qualify for funding but still be denied admission by private schools." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Carrie Griffith, OSOD Executive Director.
The text reads "It’s not surprising that a state as big as Texas has more voucher applicants than other smaller states, especially with such a large marketing budget. It’s also not surprising that so few public school families have applied for a private school voucher. Public schools deliver special education services, provide transportation, support extracurriculars, keep kids safe, and prepare them for life...Most Texans want strong, fully funded public schools - not vouchers." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Carrie Griffith, OSOD Executive Director.
📰 As applications for vouchers close, a rocky process raises questions.
Read our latest release: osod.org/as-applicati...
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Follow the facts on Texas’ $1B taxpayer-funded voucher program ⬇️
osod.org/this-week-in...
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Texas voucher applicants are far more likely to be White than Texas public school students.
The priority approval tiering may close that gap a bit—
But it’ll grow again in the final usage rate once school admissions occur and successful voucher applicants become unsuccessful school applicants
The title is Most voucher applicants are still not public school families. Below the title are three charts. The top left chart is a table that shows the number of voucher applicants for children who will enter grades PK-12 in the 2026-2027 school year as of March 22, compared to the number of voucher applicants who indicated prior public school enrollment, including charters, in the 2024-2025 school year. The top right chart is a pie chart using the data from the table, where 75% of the applicants (in orange) who were in private, homeschool, or not enrolled in 2024-2025 and 25% of the applicants (in grey) indicated prior public school enrollment in 2024-2025. At the bottom of the graphic are bar charts comparing PK applicants, Kindergarten applicants, and grades 1-12 applicants by total applications and the number of applications who indicated prior public school enrollment.
The text reads "The new data raises some early questions about which families will receive a taxpayer-funded voucher – questions that can’t fully be answered until we learn later this year which students the private schools have chosen to enroll. Public schools welcome every child, in every community, every day. This is the promise and power of Texas public education. These new voucher application numbers reaffirm what we already know: Texans value their local public schools for many reasons, and they continue to show it.." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Dee Carney, Director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency.
Meanwhile, most voucher applicants are still not public school families.
As of March 22, 60,605 public school families (out of 244,000 apps) have applied for a voucher. With 5.5m students statewide, that means approx. 1% of public school students have applied for a voucher.
The title of the slide in bold is Voucher applicants do not mirror the diversity of Texas public school students. Below the title are two donut charts showing race/ethnicity for voucher applicants and for Texas public school students. In the voucher applicant chart, 1% of applicants identify as American Indian/Alaskan Native, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander, 11% Black, 24% Hispanic, 12% Multi Racial, and 45% white. In the Texas public school student chart, 0.3% of applicants identify as American Indian/Alaskan Native, 5.8% Asian/Pacific Islander, 12.8% Black, 53.5% Hispanic, 3.3% Multi Racial, and 24.4% white. Below each chart are the sources.
The text reads "These numbers tell a clear story: Texas families trust and rely on their neighborhood public schools. Texas public schools educate students of every race, income level, ability, and background, while the latest voucher application data shows that applicants largely come from families not enrolled in public school and not representative of the diversity of local public schools." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Dee Carney, Director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency.
🚨 New voucher demographic data highlights differences between voucher applicants and Texas public school students
Read our release on the new data: osod.org/new-voucher-...
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The title is Most voucher applicants are still not public school families. Below the title are three charts. The top left chart is a table that shows the number of voucher applicants for children who will enter grades PK-12 in the 2026-2027 school year as of March 22, compared to the number of voucher applicants who indicated prior public school enrollment, including charters, in the 2024-2025 school year. The top right chart is a pie chart using the data from the table, where 75% of the applicants (in orange) who were in private, homeschool, or not enrolled in 2024-2025 and 25% of the applicants (in grey) indicated prior public school enrollment in 2024-2025. At the bottom of the graphic are bar charts comparing PK applicants, Kindergarten applicants, and grades 1-12 applicants by total applications and the number of applications who indicated prior public school enrollment.
The text reads "The new data raises some early questions about which families will receive a taxpayer-funded voucher – questions that can’t fully be answered until we learn later this year which students the private schools have chosen to enroll. Public schools welcome every child, in every community, every day. This is the promise and power of Texas public education. These new voucher application numbers reaffirm what we already know: Texans value their local public schools for many reasons, and they continue to show it.." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Dee Carney, Director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency.
Meanwhile, most voucher applicants are still not public school families.
As of March 22, 60,605 public school families (out of 244,000 apps) have applied for a voucher. With 5.5m students statewide, that means approx. 1% of public school students have applied for a voucher.
The title of the slide in bold is Voucher applicants do not mirror the diversity of Texas public school students. Below the title are two donut charts showing race/ethnicity for voucher applicants and for Texas public school students. In the voucher applicant chart, 1% of applicants identify as American Indian/Alaskan Native, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander, 11% Black, 24% Hispanic, 12% Multi Racial, and 45% white. In the Texas public school student chart, 0.3% of applicants identify as American Indian/Alaskan Native, 5.8% Asian/Pacific Islander, 12.8% Black, 53.5% Hispanic, 3.3% Multi Racial, and 24.4% white. Below each chart are the sources.
The text reads "These numbers tell a clear story: Texas families trust and rely on their neighborhood public schools. Texas public schools educate students of every race, income level, ability, and background, while the latest voucher application data shows that applicants largely come from families not enrolled in public school and not representative of the diversity of local public schools." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Dee Carney, Director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency.
🚨 New voucher demographic data highlights differences between voucher applicants and Texas public school students
Read our release on the new data: osod.org/new-voucher-...
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This week's facts about Texas' 1B taxpayer-funded voucher program: osod.org/wp-content/u...
@cbsnewstexas.bsky.social @expressnews.com @sacurrent.bsky.social @houstonchronicle.com
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At least four Islamic schools in Texas, including one in Houston, have been added to the state's voucher program after the schools sued the comptroller's office for blocking them from the program.
The text reads "Meanwhile, the extended application deadline compresses an already tight timeline for the state to launch this new $1 billion program and for families to make vital educational decisions for their children - especially for families who still need to apply and be accepted into a private school. We urge Texans in this situation to submit concerns to our confidential online portal to increase transparency and identify potential red flags as the voucher program continues to roll out." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Carrie Griffith, Executive Director of Our Schools Our Democracy.
Have a story of possible discrimination, misuse of public funds, or another concern? Report using our confidential form: osod.org/voucher-watc...
The text reads "While the Comptroller continues to highlight raw numbers of applications, Texans are left to wonder if our tax dollars are being used to support religious discrimination. It appears to be outside legislative intent for the Comptroller to exclude private schools for any reason beyond those included in legislation." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between two black lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the quote from Carrie Griffith, Executive Director of Our Schools Our Democracy.
It’s a tight turnaround that appears to contradict what state lawyers argued during a hearing in a Houston courtroom on Tuesday.
New: A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas to extend the application deadline for private school vouchers until March 31 due to the state’s exclusion of Islamic schools from the program.
Texas’ school voucher applications close Tuesday night.
Early data shows most applicants attended a private school or home-school as of last year.
The fact that vouchers mostly go to already private students doesn’t mean they don’t cost public schools $$.
It’s the opposite.
The issue is state budgets.
By absorbing costs for exiting private (or homeschoolers), states obligate taxpayers to costs previously paid by the private sector.
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Texas’ school voucher applications close today. Early data shows most applicants attended a private school or home-school as of last year.
Do you have a story about special education requirements or another concern about Texas' new voucher program?
You can confidentially report to osod.org/voucher-watchdog-reporting-system/ to help us track statewide trends and identify red flags affecting Texans.
Do you have a story about special education requirements or another concern about Texas' new voucher program?
You can confidentially report to osod.org/voucher-watchdog-reporting-system/ to help track statewide trends and identify red flags affecting Texans.
bsky.app/profile/osod...
Map of voucher applications
As rural Texas electeds noted, the benefits of any voucher program would go to cities.
The backdrop is a faded image of the Texas Capitol. On the righthand two-thirds of the screen is a cream colored box with a red heading that reads Voucher lessons for Texas. The text in the box reads "Texans can learn from other states what can happen when voucher programs are allowed to grow without guardrails: budget deficits, misuse of public funds, and no improvement on school outcomes. Join the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, an initiative of Our Schools Our Democracy for a webinar to learn what Texans should be watching - and how you can stay involved - as Texas continues to implement the new voucher program. March 12, 2026 at 6:30p CT" At the bottom in a smaller purple box is the link bit.ly/TXVoucherLessons
The backdrop is a faded image of the Texas Capitol. On the righthand two-thirds of the screen is a cream colored box with a red heading that reads Featured Speakers. Below the heading are two headshots with captions. Josh Cowen, Professor of Education Policy is a white man in a white collared shirt and green tie. Dee Carney, Director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, is a white woman with short blonde hair in a blue collared shirt. Below the two headshots is additional text that reads: "You'll also hear from Heather DuBois Bourenane, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Public Education Network; Beth Lewis, Director of Save Our Schools Arizona; and Piet van Lier, Deputy Director of Honesty for Ohio Education." At the bottom in a smaller purple box is the link bit.ly/TXVoucherLessons
Join us this Thursday at 6:30p CT for a conversation on voucher lessons for Texas from @joshcowenmi.bsky.social, @sosarizona.org, @wiscednetwork.bsky.social, and @honesty4ohioed.bsky.social.
Register: bit.ly/TXVoucherLessons.
🚨Vouchers for DISNEYLAND⁉️ 12News continues their deep dive into ESA voucher spending records, finding that Arizona taxpayers are bankrolling Disneyland trips, luxury resort stays, and international flights with taxpayer dollars meant for students’ education.
The backdrop is a faded image of the Texas Capitol. On the righthand two-thirds of the screen is a cream colored box with a red heading that reads Voucher lessons for Texas. The text in the box reads "Texans can learn from other states what can happen when voucher programs are allowed to grow without guardrails: budget deficits, misuse of public funds, and no improvement on school outcomes. Join the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, an initiative of Our Schools Our Democracy for a webinar to learn what Texans should be watching - and how you can stay involved - as Texas continues to implement the new voucher program. March 12, 2026 at 6:30p CT" At the bottom in a smaller purple box is the link bit.ly/TXVoucherLessons
The backdrop is a faded image of the Texas Capitol. On the righthand two-thirds of the screen is a cream colored box with a red heading that reads Featured Speakers. Below the heading are two headshots with captions. Josh Cowen, Professor of Education Policy is a white man in a white collared shirt and green tie. Dee Carney, Director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, is a white woman with short blonde hair in a blue collared shirt. Below the two headshots is additional text that reads: "You'll also hear from Heather DuBois Bourenane, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Public Education Network; Beth Lewis, Director of Save Our Schools Arizona; and Piet van Lier, Deputy Director of Honesty for Ohio Education." At the bottom in a smaller purple box is the link bit.ly/TXVoucherLessons
Join us this Thursday at 6:30p CT for a conversation on voucher lessons for Texas from @joshcowenmi.bsky.social, @sosarizona.org, @wiscednetwork.bsky.social, and @honesty4ohioed.bsky.social.
Register: bit.ly/TXVoucherLessons.