Approximately 73,000 families to receive initial school choice funding July 1

(The Center Square) – The majority of Texas families whose children were approved to participate in Texas’ new school choice program are expected to receive initial funding July 1.

An estimated 73,000 families will receive initial funding July 1 through the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program administered by the Texas Comptroller’s Office.

More than 102,000 students have been accepted, a state and national record. The TEFA program begins in August when the 2026-2027 school year begins.

The majority of TEFA students will be attending private school in the 2026-2027 school year, according to the comptroller data, The Center Square reported.

The first families to receive TEFA funds are homeschool and other eligible private school students, the comptroller’s office said. They are receiving $2,000, as stipulated by the law.

“The first group to receive funding includes private school families who opted in and whose selected school confirmed the student’s enrollment, along with homeschool/other families who opted in by the deadline,” the comptroller’s office explained.

Private school students will receive the first 25% of their total award, another 25% on Oct. 1, and the remaining 50% on Feb. 1, 2027, as long as they remain enrolled in a participating private school, the comptroller’s office said.

Accepted students whose families haven’t selected a participating private school have until July 15 to do so. Their selected school has until July 31 to confirm enrollment through the TEFA portal. Those with completed confirmations will continue to be funded periodically in batches before the school year begins, the comptroller’s office added.

The legislature allocated $1 billion to fund TEFA to support up to roughly 100,000 students. The program allocates roughly $30,000 for disabled students, $10,000 for other students and $2,000 for homeschool students. Eligibility is based on economic need, prioritizing disabled and low-income students, divided in tiers.

The TEFA Toolkit includes approved school and vendor lists, which members of the public can download. There are also multiple fact sheets on the website, including how the awards are allocated and funding algorithms, including for disabled children.

The approved school list includes roughly 2,500; a TEFA map shows more than 3,800 private schools and online school providers. There are more than 60 approved online schools listed, including those based outside of Texas.

According to the list, the majority of approved private schools are faith-based institutions. The majority are Protestant and nondenominational Christian and Roman Catholic schools. Islamic and Jewish-affiliated schools are also on the list although there are far less of them. The list also includes Montessori schools, Prenda Microschools, and schools using AI-driven "2-Hour Learning" platforms.

AI-driven schools are becoming a trend, including at Houston ISD, which is the first public school system to launch a multicampus AI program in Texas, The Center Square reported.

Also launching July 1 is the TEFA Marketplace, a secure online platform for families to use TEFA funds. It allows families to directly purchase approved products and services from participating schools, service providers and vendors. Eligible purchases include private school tuition, textbooks, instructional materials, tutoring and other approved education expenses.

It was created to “protect taxpayers and ensure that funds are used only for approved education expenses,” the comptroller’s office said. It is being audited by the comptroller’s office, the State Auditor’s Office and Earnst & Young, LLP.

TEFA funds are only allowed to be used to purchase approved products and services through the TEFA Marketplace. Families will not be reimbursed for purchases made outside the TEFA Marketplace. Schools, parents and vendors using the platform will not be charged fees to list, buy or sell products and services.

The TEFA rollout is being managed by the New York-based company Odyssey, which is receiving $26 million in taxpayer funds the first two years, Our Schools Our Democracy notes. Odyssey has also contracted with three organizations to provide marketing and outreach services. They include two Austin-based consultancy and advertising agencies, Vianovo and Steel Advertising, and Outschool.org.

According to data obtained through a public information request by the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, up to $80 million in taxpayer funding is being spent on program administration, services and outreach, including a $2.5 million contract for accounting and consulting services.

TXCVT notes that 56% of Texas counties do not have a ‘brick-and-mortar’ elementary, middle, or high school participating in TEFA.