Catholic Schools Camino initiative helps parents, students access Catholic education
Oscar Ortiz, Executive Director of Strategic Outreach & Education Access for the Diocese of Fort Worth, leads an information session about Camino and ESAs at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic School on October 9, 2025. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
On an unfamiliar path, a knowledgeable guide is invaluable.
This spring, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2, giving parents the option to apply for state funding for private education, as early as January, and receive approximately $12,000 for the 2026-27 school year to use toward private school tuition, uniforms, tutoring, and other approved educational services. Children with special needs may receive up to $30,000.
Funds will be distributed in a lottery-based system, with applicants’ likelihood of receiving the funds increasing according to four categories of prioritization.
Questions abound about eligibility, the amount of funds, the application process, and more.
To guide families step by step through the entire program, the diocese’s Catholic Schools Office opened the Camino initiative.
“The diocese wants to make sure no family is left wondering, or confused with all the paperwork, or missing any deadlines,” Oscar Ortiz said. As executive director of strategic outreach and educational access for the diocese’s Catholic Schools Office since June, Ortiz has worked to open the lines of communication with current and prospective families who could benefit from this opportunity.
“We want to express this commitment to our families, that we will walk with them through this new path that they’ll be taking towards Catholic schools,” said Ortiz, previously principal of Nolan Catholic High School.
Share the Word
Since the school year began in August, the Catholic Schools Office has made spreading awareness of the Camino initiative a priority, hosting parent information sessions at each of the diocese’s 17 schools.
Bishop Michael Olson also expressed the significance of this bill and the opportunities it will open for many parents and students in the diocese. During a Q&A with the bishop at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Grapevine, Bishop Olson reaffirmed the importance of Catholic education.
“The responses I hear from parents in Catholic schools is, ‘Boy, I’m learning a lot of stuff that I didn’t know before about the faith,’” the bishop said. “That is part of the mission of Catholic education in Catholic schools: to promote and foster the family, because families are the foundation of society, not the individual.
“Our Catholic schools are essential to show the Truth by how we live. I am very committed to Catholic education, and Catholic schools as a means for that,” he said. “It’s important that we go through this together, that we foster the growth of our schools and the access to them as we go forward.”
The bishop celebrated the passing of the Senate Bill and the introduction of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which he explained is very different from vouchers. Whereas TEFAs (formerly known as Education Savings Accounts/ESAs) are granted to parents, vouchers are paid directly to schools.
“With vouchers come expectations from the state onto the school, which we don’t want because we want our religious liberty. We want to teach as we are called to teach and what we are called to teach,” the bishop concluded.
A developing story
Parents have a lot of good questions, and some answers are still in development at the state level. But don’t let that stop you from planning to apply or staying informed, Ortiz advised.
“The key to our success is getting our families to subscribe to get alerts from Camino, to get information, and to ask us questions when they need us,” he said.
As of the beginning of October, about 1,300 families had subscribed to the diocese’s Camino alerts, representing more than 3,000 current and prospective students.
“Essentially, if you qualify under the categories, we encourage you to apply,” Superintendent Frank Perez said. “We’re encouraging everybody to apply — I’m applying myself because I have a student with special needs. I might not be at the very top of the list, but it just shows our legislators that this program is important to us.”
The state has budgeted $1 billion to serve approximately 90,000 students, based on their circumstances. It’s up to parents to show their legislators this program matters, Perez continued. “The more people that come, the more that it will grow and expand for years to come.”
“There’s a lot of factors that are out of our control, but what we can control is go ahead and register,” Ortiz added.
BLESSING TO SHARE
Informed parents and administrators are excited to share the good news revolving around Camino, Ortiz said.
A Camino volunteer task force that Ortiz is organizing will include social media promoters to help with visibility and sign-ups; parishioners who can personally share the news and QR codes at churches; and faithful who have pledged their time, come January, to help with applications and questions.
“It’s a mix of principals, some enrollment coordinators, some secretaries or office managers at their parishes, and many parents who have committed to be on location once dates are available,” Ortiz said.
Angelica Birdsong of Holy Trinity has volunteered to help with applications.
“I’m not sure what Saturday or time it will be, but I will make myself available and offer up my help to people with the application,” Birdsong said.
Birdsong enrolled her son in Holy Trinity in first grade and has seen him thrive in his education for the past four years.
“I saw a difference since the beginning, in his academic level and his understanding of our religion. This was very important for me,” she said.
The mother believes Catholic education is worth the investment.
“I understand all of the work it takes to make it happen, but, in my opinion, the education is worth it, regardless of its cost,” she said. “But now, with this option that we have to potentially receive the funds, ease our family’s struggle, well, it goes without saying — it’s a great blessing.”
Get more information on Camino and applying for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts at CatholicSchoolsFWDioc.org/esa-school-choice.
Catholic Schools, Senate Bill 2, Private Catholic education, Education Savings Account, Texas Education Freedom Account, trending-english