SB2 meets minimum of bishops’ criteria for parental choice in education

Jan. 28, 2025

Testimony by Jennifer Allmon,  Executive Director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops

I am testifying in support of SB 2.

SB 2 meets the minimum requirements of the bishops’ criteria for supporting parental choice legislation because it includes:

1. Accountability through accreditation and the administration of norm-referenced assessments.
2. Strong religious liberty and private school autonomy protection; and
3. Prioritization of the poor and vulnerable if funding is insufficient to cover all applicants, while also leaving a universal pathway for all families if funding becomes available. 

Prioritization of Applications: Income as Primary Factor Limiting Opportunity

The primary obstacle precluding parents from exercising the freedom to choose the best educational environment for their children is cost. We believe it is essential that the program prioritizes access for families with the most financial and academic needs. This bill generally accomplishes that goal. We appreciate the significant improvements to the prioritization compared to last session’s Senate bills.

We are concerned that poor families who are currently enrolled in our Catholic schools and meet the income bracket of the priority group are still excluded from that group because they are currently enrolled in a private school. These families make great sacrifices to send their children to private schools. They manage to afford tuition through working multiple jobs, scholarships, and assistance from grandparents. We support the universal structure that allows a pathway for all families and recommend that you consider a sub or floor amendment that allows lower–income, current private school families priority access to the funds over those whose higher incomes mean they could choose to pay for private school now but have not. We also appreciate the effort to include families at a variety of income levels while ensuring that those with the lowest incomes are first in line.

Accreditation & Testing

We appreciate that the bulk of the ESA funds are available for families to choose accredited private schools. Accreditation requires that the curricula used in private schools be equivalent or greater in rigor to that used in public school, but with greater curriculum flexibility. ALL schools should be held accountable to ensure high academic standards. The Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) coordinates with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to ensure quality in private schools by monitoring and approving accreditors for non-public schools. This accountability has been in place since 1986 when the TEA Commissioner of Education recognized the accreditation responsibilities of TEPSAC. Participation requires accreditation standards comparable to TEA standards and preserves the integrity of schools. We are concerned that the bill may have some accreditation loopholes that need to be addressed.

For example, on page 8, Section 29.358 (b) we do not support the removal of the accreditation language that was in all other previous Senate Bills for the last 15 years. We think it should return to including the requirement that all participating schools are accredited by an accrediting commission of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission or TEA.  Because SB 2 allows $2,000 to be spent on options like tutors, teaching services, textbooks and curriculum, courses at community colleges and testing, there are plenty of innovative non-school options for those who are not enrolling in accredited private schools.

Religious Liberty

Thank you for the strong religious liberty and private school autonomy language in the bill as this will ensure the broadest possible participation by accredited private schools. Without this language in the bill, it would be unlikely that Catholic schools would choose to participate in the program. Thank you for respecting our autonomy and integrity. 

Practical Implementation:

SB 2 has some strong elements that will contribute to smooth implementation, especially the July 1 date for the first payments to the student accounts. Many private schools begin collecting tuition payments in April or May of the preceding year to ensure the cash flow needed for the late summer and opening of school. It would be difficult to wait till October for the first tuition payments as previous bills have required. In addition, allowing rules to be adopted on an emergency basis is important for quick implementation and helps parents, certified educational organizations, and private schools to be ready for applications in Spring 2026. The ESA amounts in the bill will cover the average tuition amounts at our Catholic schools.

Capacity to Serve

The Catholic schools in Texas are growing and are ready to serve. We have opened 2 new schools per year since 2021 and we are on track to open about two schools per year for the next few years as well. Because our Catholic schools in 35 states have been participating in school choice for decades, we benefit from their successes and struggles. Our superintendents have been preparing for implementation by networking with colleagues across the country. All Catholic bishops and diocesan school offices are supportive of the individual Catholic schools welcoming students under this bill. We estimate more than 90% of our schools will participate and have the capacity to add about 25,000 students in the 2026-2027 school year.

• Our average K-8 tuition is under $8,000 and average high school tuition is under $12,000. This is about $4,000 less than we spend on the education of each child and the difference is made up by fundraising and parish or diocesan subsidy.
• 48% of our students receive tuition assistance and the average financial assistance provided is $3,400.
• 84% of Catholic schools serve students with special needs and schools report an average of 12% of the student body having identified special needs.

Conclusion

Most students will continue to benefit from a public-school education, because of the many advantages offered by public schools, such as sports and other extra-curricular activities, which are attractive to families. It is unrealistic, however, to expect public schools to be everything to every child. It is a win-win for communities when all children can flourish in the educational setting best suited for them. We can simultaneously support public schools as the predominant method of receiving an education in Texas while providing greater access to alternatives for those children who need something other than their zoned public school.