Texas Education Freedom Accounts: vendors and rules
Texas TEFA pays state funds for tuition, tutoring and curriculum from 2026-27 through Odyssey. Home-school families receive up to $2,000 a year.
Updated . Country: United States
Texas Education Freedom Accounts pay state funds for tuition, tutoring and curriculum from the 2026-27 school year. Families manage everything through Odyssey at educationfreedom.texas.gov.
The program in brief
The Texas Legislature created TEFA in 2025. The Texas Comptroller runs it with Odyssey as the assistance organization. More than 100,000 students won awards for year one. Home-school families receive up to $2,000 a year. Private-school students receive more.
Year-one applications ran February 4 to March 17, 2026. Each later year sets its own window, so check the portal early.
What the funds buy
Approved expenses cover private school tuition, home-school expenses, tutoring, curriculum materials and approved learning technology. Sonlight Curriculum explains TEFA payment for its programs on its savings-accounts page. Time4Learning names Texas among its ten approved-vendor states.
Microschools take TEFA tuition. Evoke Acton Academy in Cedar Park tells families to select it as their school when they apply. Acton Academy Northwest Austin says it is an approved TEFA provider. Verify each campus, because approval runs per school, not per network.
How to use it
Apply in the Odyssey portal and wait for the award. Choose approved vendors in the marketplace for direct pay, or pay and claim where the handbook allows. Keep itemised invoices with your child's name.
Watch renewals. TEFA needs a fresh application each year for each student. A missed window means a missed year.
Limits to know
Funds follow the handbook, not the vendor's word. Technology and extras face the strictest review. Fraud rules are strict: never sign blank forms or inflated invoices.
Find vendors on this site
Search Texas cities for microschools that name TEFA on their tuition pages, such as the Acton campuses around Austin. Filter online schools and curriculum sellers that ship statewide. Each approval label names the list and date behind it; re-check before you spend.