Texas' first voucher recipients head to the classroom for first day of school

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Many students in the Houston area were back in the classroom on Monday for the first day of school, including those using the first Texas Education Freedom Account, also called TEFA, or voucher dollars.

Vouchers use state taxpayer dollars that help families afford private education for their children. Governor Greg Abbott spent years getting the legislation passed, a move that has stirred controversy across political lines.

ABC13 went to Dyslexia School of Houston, a small private school operation accepting voucher dollars for the first time.

As its name suggests, the school focuses on students with dyslexia and their families seeking additional therapies and support for their child's education.

"I worry about all children obviously, but it's the ones that can't afford it that keep me up at night," Dyslexia School of Houston Founder and CEO Tammy Spencer said.

Spencer said her program used to offer after-school and part-time help to students with dyslexia, but as of Monday, it is a full-time, five-day-a-week private school with eight students. Five of the students' families are helping to pay for the $35,000-a-year tuition with voucher dollars.

Spencer said dyslexia services are considered an educational need, not a medical one, so all additional therapy costs come out of pocket for her families until now.

"Before, they had to go to public school, and then our after-school services were at cost, and so what we are doing now is because they are coming in and they are paying the private school tuition, they are getting their dyslexia therapy they would be paying for after school in the school day," Spencer said.

Mom Christine Nuñez said the school offered exactly what her daughter needed.

"She was having some learning difficulties, especially everything related to language and speech development," Nuñez said.

According to the Texas Education Agency, a quarter of voucher recipients have a qualifying disability. Christine Nuñez's daughter, first grader Gianna, is one of them.

Both working parents, Nuñez and her husband received $11,000 in their Texas Education Freedom Account this year.

"We are reliant on the TEFA dollars; it opened up the opportunity for her to come here, but it doesn't mean there is no skin in the game," Nuñez said.

According to the TEA, students with a documented learning disability can be awarded upwards of $30,000.

For the 2026-27 school year, over 21,000 families with a qualified first-grade student, including the Nuñez family, filled out an application. TEA data shows just under 7,000 students received funding.

"It's still a heavy lift for us. We are committed to putting her here at this school; this is the best thing for her, it is the investment we are making now for her to have a good future," Nuñez said.

Spencer said she sees her school as a bridge. While she can handle students from pre-K through eighth grade, she doesn't expect her students to stay with her the entire time. Instead, she is focused on getting them where they need to be so they can move on to the public or private school of their choice.