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35,000 low income children who qualified for Family Empowerment Scholarships last year, but were on a waiting list would receive the scholarships this Fall under a voucher expansion approved by the Senate Education Appropriations Committee Tuesday.

Critics called it an affront to separation of church and state and warned that private schools may indoctrinate students with religious beliefs, but sponsor Sen. Manny Diaz said the costs for the expansion are minimal in the overall $22 billion education budget.

“We have 35,000 students who have gone through the process that are low income, that are qualified, that don’t have the ability to participate in this. And I think if you compare those two things, you know the 22 billion plus, not to mention all the capital dollars, which is another $2.9 billion statewide that are expended through districts on public education, I think this is a small program,” said Diaz.

The legislation also automatically increases the number of vouchers available each year by about 28,000, about equal to one percent of the number of public school students.