Texas

How it works

Texas created its first school choice programme in 2025 (Senate Bill 2, $1 billion), starting with the 2026-27 school year. It was renamed from "Education Savings Account" to Texas Education Freedom Accounts in October 2025, so pages under the old name are out of date. Parents who choose a private school or homeschool spend the account on approved expenses through the Odyssey marketplace. Unspent money rolls over while the child stays in the programme.

Programme

Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA)

Administered by

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, with accounts and the marketplace run by Odyssey

Amount

Homeschool: $2,000 a year, paid in full on 1 July. Private school: $10,474 for 2026-27, or up to $30,000 for a student with a disability and an IEP.

For homeschoolers

Homeschoolers can use it

Who qualifies

Any Texas child eligible to attend a public school, who is a US citizen, national or lawfully present. There is no income limit, but when applications exceed funding, places go by priority tier: first children with a disability at or below 500% of the federal poverty level, then households at or below 200%, then 200-500%, then above 500%, with a lottery inside each tier. In later years, siblings of participants come first.

How to apply

1. Confirm your child is eligible for this year — see "Who qualifies" above.
2. Check this year's window. The first window ran 4 February to 31 March 2026 and is closed. More than 274,000 applications came in and over 100,000 awards were made, including later rounds from the waitlist. Join the 2027-28 interest list on the programme site to hear when the next window opens. Dates move every year, so confirm on the official page before you plan around them.
3. Create a parent account on the official portal and start the application.
4. Have your documents ready. Most programmes want proof of residency, the child's birth certificate, and an IEP or eligibility determination if the programme is disability-based.
5. Once you're approved, spend it. Textbooks, curriculum and other instructional materials are approved expenses. Search for Historical Conquest in the Odyssey marketplace. Computer hardware and software are capped at 10% of the year’s deposit.

Official programme page: educationfreedom.texas.gov/families. Amounts, deadlines and eligibility are set by the state and change every year — always confirm there before you plan around them.

Sources

Checked 18 September 2026 against these sources:

• educationfreedom.texas.gov
• educationfreedom.texas.gov/families