Texas's $1 billion school voucher program draws 274,000 applicants

More than a quarter of a million Texas students are eligible to participate in the state's new taxpayer-funded school choice program, which is set to become the largest of its kind in the US.

Eligibility and funding details

According to the Texas Comptroller's Office, it received 274,183 applications for the Texas EducationFreedom Accounts program. Of those, 247,032 students were deemed eligible, while 24,941 were deemed ineligible and 2,210 are still under review.

In the first priority tier, 30,000 low-income and disabled students are eligible, followed by 79,000 students in the second tier. The program's first year will fund around 100,000 students, with disabled students receiving up to $30,000 and others getting $10,300. Home-schooled students will receive $2,000, and there's also funding for school-related expenses.

Breakdown of eligible applicants

Of the eligible students, 68,000 (27.5%) previously attended public school, while nearly 180,000 did not attend public school and were in either private school, home-schooled, or too young for kindergarten. The state does not have a breakdown of how many previously attended private schools.

Reaction from state representatives

Republican State Representative Mitch Little, who supports the program, praised the number of applicants, saying there's clearly