What's next for Texas school voucher program?

Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa will hold her first post-election news conference today, and education could be a focus. It sure can. So we want to know what changes do you think should be made to the education system in Texas? You can scan the QR code on that right bottom side of your screen to have your say. Hinojosa wants to scale back the state's private school voucher program, which gives qualifying families an average of about $10,000 to attend a private school of their choice. She called it a voucher scam. Education advocates predict a stronger focus on public school funding. But she can't repeal the program on her own. She'd need the legislature where Republicans still control the Senate and Democrats now control the House. The conference is at 2 o'clock in Austin. Meanwhile, while the newly elected Texas Comptroller Sarah Eckhardt has pledged to audit the state's school choice program. Angie Rodriguez joins us now live from the HISD administrative building with more on that potential audit and how it could have direct impacts on your family. Angie, good morning. Hey, good morning, ladies. Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, over 3,000 students right here between HISD are potentially impacted by this voucher. Now, just to remind you, the difference in votes between the appointed Republican incumbent, Don Huffines, and the now comptroller elect, Sarah Eckhart, was only about 6%. Now, one of the biggest critical decisions awaiting Eckhart on day one will be the oversight of Texas's billion dollar private school voucher program. So here's a little bit of background. The Texas Education Freedoms Account Program is an education savings account initiative that redirects state tax dollars to eligible families to cover private school tuition, homeschooling courses and other educational instructions. Now, those most impacted are public school districts, particularly in rural and low-income areas where enrollment drops directly reduce state operational funding, as well as families seeking alternatives to the traditional public school system, with most enrollment priority granted to lower-income households and students with disabilities. Now, according to data released by the Texas Comptroller's Office, for the 26 to 27 school year, there are over 3,000 students residing within a huge area. Houston ISD boundaries that were awarded and hold funded accounts under this TEPA program. And Eckhart has been very clear about where she stands on this since the beginning. This is a state subsidizing of a private industry that was doing just fine without it. And as we've seen, most... Parents with children who are utilizing the voucher already had their kids in private school already. So we are at least subsidizing something that was already occurring or at worst, we are incentivizing, inducing a market that we didn't intend and will not serve our children well. But as the comptroller, My job is to vigorously follow the money and report back to the legislature if their investment is not panning out. And the legislature very clearly spoke its legislative intention that this create more choice for families and that it predominantly go to low income families and especially families that had children with disabilities. Now the comptroller elects oversight could help determine whether the money is actually reaching the families that lawmakers intended to prioritize and whether the program is delivering on what the state paid for. As of right now, Huffines will remain in office throughout the end of his term with Eckhart scheduled to be sworn in just before the Texas legislative session that is in mid January. Eckhart's upcoming biennial review estimate and program audits will reshape how How lawmakers fund Or amend this voucher system. Now again, as a reminder, there are over 3,000 students within Houston ISD that could be impacted by this. And that is thousands of families right here in the Houston area. Back to you.