Texas School Choice 2026: Parents prepare for charter, private, and homeschool options
The upcoming school year is only a month away, and major changes are coming to the Texas education system with school choice taking effect in 2026.
If you're a parent with questions about charter schools and education savings accounts, informational meetings are already happening around North Texas.
Tahj Sandlin is already focused on the next year when her daughter will enter kindergarten, and the public school she would be attending has a low rating.
"Overall, just wasn't satisfied," said Sandlin. "I was somebody who grew up with small classes and a very structured school district."
Sandlin said she's looking forward to school choice and plans to take advantage of it by enrolling her daughter in a charter school with the help of up to $10,000 in state assistance.
But this young mother has a lot of questions about how to make it happen. So she attended a community meeting on the subject at New Mount Rose Church in Fort Worth.
"I just didn't know what to do at all," Sandlin said. "I didn't know where to go next."
Sandlin and other parents listened to charter school operators like Janice Blackmon, who founded Universal Academy, which has two campuses in North Texas.
How can parents make the best decision about choosing public, private or home schooling?
"first of all, they need to fully analyze the student," said Blackmon. "What's your child's learning focus? Determine what would be the best setting for the child."
Trae Adkins already homeschools his four kids because of concerns about the state of public education.
"In college, I began to see our students could come there, and they couldn't form sentences in college," said Adkins.
Parents who need financial help for private or home schooling can start applying in only a few months and there's a limited amount of state money available
With $1 billion allocated and each child receiving up to $10,000, that only covers about 100,000 students.
Adkins, who said he pays for all of his teaching supplies, could qualify for up to $2,000 for each of his kids who are homeschooled.
"I'm very grateful for that because of the materials that we've had to buy in the past, it would help us out a whole lot," Adkins said.
School choice may be a year away, but those in education say waiting to make decisions and applying for public funds this time next year may be too late.
