Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced new transparency tools and an independent audit for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, according to an Oct. 26 news release from the Comptroller’s office.
The measures are part of what the agency calls the Taxpayer First Project, and are intended to let Texans see how program funds are spent while protecting student and family data. The release said more than 100,000 students are enrolled in the program and more than 100,000 are on the waitlist.
According to the release, the Comptroller’s office will publish a series of data points about the program, including applications received, eligible applicants, funded accounts, the Year 1 waiting list, students with disabilities, participation by priority tier, income distribution, an ISD participation heat map, and the effect on public school enrollment.
The agency said the first set of data would go live on the Comptroller’s website the week of the announcement. In the coming weeks, it will become a full searchable dashboard, which will link to a whistleblower portal where Texans can report suspected fraud, anonymously if they choose.
The release also described a planned independent, third-party audit of the program, separate from an audit by the State Auditor’s Office. Huffines said the arrangement gives the program three layers of review, including internal Comptroller oversight.
“Texans deserve transparency to know how their tax dollars are being spent,” Huffines said in the release. He added, “Nobody should have to depend on big media conglomerates to interpret data through a biased lens.”
The release listed eleven actions taken since the Taxpayer First Project launched in August, including executive orders on medical records and online marketplace taxes, performance reviews of four school districts, a fraud strike team, a whistleblower portal, restrictions on DEI funding, a ban on grant money for Flock cameras, and faster tax refunds.
The dashboard’s full rollout is expected in the coming weeks, according to the agency.