Despite Federal Mandate, Texas Says It Won't Fund Education for Migrant Children in Shelters

Texas’ top education officials told school district administrators Friday that they cannot use state funding to provide schooling for children housed in migrant shelters. The announcement issued in a letter sent to all school superintendents statewide has raised concerns for both shelters and school districts, whose leaders say it highlights a broader pattern of push-and-pull between the state and the federal government over regulating shelters. Leo Lopez, the Texas Education Agency’s associate administrator for school funding, said in the letter that according to state law, Texas public schools can only fund education in shelters where children are held by federal agencies through external sources like tuition.