ClassWallet’s Texas Family Engagement Coordinator Shares What School Choice Means for Families
For ClassWallet’s Cassandra Gonzalez-Posey, the quest to support the educational journey for Texas families is personal. As the daughter of migrant farmworkers, she was the first in her family to graduate from college (Texas A&M University-Kingsville), thanks to parents who prioritized education despite limited resources.
Since then, she’s worn many hats to help ensure families in her state have the best education options. Cassandra has served as a Title 1 teacher, homeschool parent, public school mom, and policy advocate – all in service of Texas students.
Now, she has joined ClassWallet as the Texas Family Engagement Coordinator, where her goals for Texas education continue. Through Texas’s Parent-Directed Special Education Services (PDSES) program, ClassWallet has helped over 160,000 families access $225 million in funds for educational materials, technology, and specialized services.
Cassandra took the time to share why she joined ClassWallet, what school choice means for Texas families, and how the state’s new $1 billion Education Savings Account program – signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in May 2025 – could transform education access for thousands of students
Cassandra, thank you for taking the time to talk about Texas and your long-term support of Texas families. Tell us about a few of the hats you’ve worn across the Lone Star State when it comes to Texas education, and why it is so important to you.
First of all, thank you for inviting me to participate in this discussion. I have devoted much of my time to Texas education and I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others. I love the power and freedom education can bring to communities, because I have seen the ability it has to transform generations. I have served as a public school teacher, helped develop curriculum for districts, helped with curriculum review at the state level, been an avid parent volunteer, and I’ve been a mentor for many homeschool families. In every role, I’ve heard from parents and students, and it’s been clear that offering more educational options is best for Texas. Which is why I spent many years working tirelessly with families, helping them advocate for their own children with their local representatives. Empowering parents by meeting them where they are, and finding solutions for them is a gift that has kept on giving.
The Texas ESA program will become operational for the 2026-2027 school year, but that means parents who are interested in participating need to start learning and preparing for the program soon. How much funding can Texas families get with an ESA, and what can it be used for?
After a family opts in and is approved through the program, they can expect about $10,000 for private school tuition or $2,000 for homeschool expenses. For Texas families with children who have special needs, the program can provide up to $30,000 to help cover important therapies and services.
At ClassWallet, we hope to be able to support this important process for Texas families, because it is complex, and we have the best experience to lead them through this change. With ClassWallet, families will have access to support, from the start of the application process, to utilizing the online payment system. I’m excited to be with a trusted company that already has hundreds of approved providers onboarded into the system as a result of operating the current Texas PDSES program (a one-time $1,500 stipend for public school special needs families). From Day 1, we are ready to help all families. Considering the Texas ESA program could serve as many as 100,000 students from the launch, there is no other team I would trust to deliver on the promise of excellence.
If ClassWallet secures the Texas ESA contract, families will have access to an online account. There, they will access a secure digital wallet managed by ClassWallet, so they never have to worry about handling cash or waiting for checks in the mail. The money is there for state-approved educational needs, from tuition and curriculum to school supplies, books, and even technology.
I am most excited for families to have access to the ClassWallet portal for services. As a parent of four, I have lost count of how many times I’ve turned to Google to find services, had to then call to see if a specific vendor had particular fees or offered certain services. With ClassWallet, all of that information would be in the parent portal. Families would know those providers are already approved through the state and will accept ESA funding; the curation changes the game. They would also have the ability to get reminders for tuition payments, which will help when they are juggling extracurriculars, schoolwork, and appointments.
Why is accountability so important when it comes to ESAs, and how can digital wallets help ensure accountability for stakeholders?
Some still think checks are mailed to families or they receive a debit card, but that’s not the case with our digital wallet platform and the new Texas ESA. Instead, parents would see the amount available for their use in a secure, online digital wallet and can direct the funds to providers that meet their child’s needs. Funds can only be spent on approved educational goods and services, and only with providers that have been approved to participate based on program rules. With our digital wallet, gone are the days of waiting for payments to clear and needing to account for that before making new purchases. The ClassWallet system is efficient and easy to use for parents, but more importantly, it allows for accountability in spending.
When you imagine Texas five or ten years from now, what do you hope families will be able to say about this ESA program and the roles played in making it possible?
I hope families will say, "Because of this opportunity, my child’s life was changed for the better." Whether that’s a student who discovered a love for engineering, a struggling reader who finally caught up, or a young adult who earned a trade certification, I want the story to always end with hope and opportunity. And I want our role to be remembered as the bridge that made it possible.
ClassWallet has a passion for people and the positive impact they create for others, so joining the team was a natural fit as I look to guide families into exercising their new ability for choice.