AUSTIN (January 17, 2013)--With key Republican state lawmakers pushing for expanding school vouchers, a group opposed to public funding for private schools was stating its case Thursday in Austin.

Leaders of the Coalition for Public Schools said Thursday that most students and their families can't afford private school tuition, even with vouchers, and Janna Lilly of the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education noted that federal law already requires public school districts to set aside federal funds.

That funding pays for students with disabilities to attend private schools if placed by their parents.

She said that this year alone, Texas school districts budgeted $8.8 million for that program.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, proposes expanding charter schools and allowing parents to send students to private schools using vouchers.