Texas comptroller releases new TEFA enrollment figures

Over 53,000 new students are enrolled in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) school choice program for the 2026–2027 school year, according to the state comptroller.  

The program, created under Senate Bill 2 in 2025, allows families to use state education funding for private school tuition, homeschooling and other approved education expenses.  

According to figures released by the comptroller’s office, 68% of applicants were previously enrolled in private school or homeschooled during the 2024–2025 school year. These students fall under Tier 2 eligibility, meaning their household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, about $66,000 annually for a family of four. 

The latest round of TEFA awards follows the initial rollout to 42,600 Tier 1 students, who either have a disability or have a sibling with a disability.  

Students were selected through a lottery conducted by a private firm on behalf of the Comptroller’s office from a pool of more than 274,000 applicants, far exceeding the program’s first-year capacity.  

The TEFA program is a $1 billion initiative approved by the legislature in 2025 and administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The comptroller has described TEFA as the nation’s largest day-one school choice program.  

Under TEFA guidelines, students participating in approved pre-K or kindergarten programs receive 85% of state and local per-student funding based on average daily attendance, which equals $10,474 this year. Tier 1 students with an individualized education program on file are eligible for up to $30,000, while homeschool students can receive $2,000 annually.  

Recipients who do not enroll in an eligible program and claim their awards by July 15 will forfeit funding, which will then be redistributed to students on the waitlist. Once enrolled, students are automatically renewed in the program each year without needing to reapply. 

Photo by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay