As the 2026-27 school year kicks off, thousands of families across the Austin area are participating in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, or TEFA.
The program provides families funds from the state to send their children to private schools or homeschool them, with priority given to students with disabilities and children from low-income households. Of the more than 100,000 students awarded TEFA funds, more than 1,000 students reside within Austin ISD boundaries, along with thousands more in the wider metro area, according to parent-reported data published Aug. 1.
How it works
Families accepted into the program are awarded $10,474 per child for private school expenses, while qualifying children with disabilities may receive up to $30,000. Homeschool students can receive up to $2,000. Under the TEFA program, parents can spend money on tuition, uniforms, transportation and other qualifying costs.
While Laura Colangelo, executive director of the Texas Private Schools Association, said new private schools have opened up, these schools cannot immediately participate in the program. Schools must be in operation for two years, be accredited by the Texas Education Agency or the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission and test students on qualifying assessments, according to the TEFA website.
Colangelo said families might opt to send their children to private school “for any number of reasons,” including a child’s academic needs, bullying issues and family preference for faith-based education.
“While we represent private schools, we are not anti-public schools,” Colangelo said. “We want good options for all families. We hope that private schools, public schools, charter schools [and] home schools, that all of them continue to provide great opportunities for families. It's just now that more families that could not afford private school before will be able to afford private school and homeschooling after this program.”
However, critics of the program claim that this program subsidizes students already participating in private schools rather than widening opportunities for new families to enroll in private schools.
Parent-reported data indicates 70% of students awarded TEFA funds were already enrolled in a private school or were homeschooled for the 2024-25 school year, according to an Aug. 10 release from the comptroller.
“The new data tells two stories at the same time: most students using a voucher this year were already in private or home school, while thousands of families who explored a voucher ultimately chose not to use it,” said Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, in an Aug. 13 news release. “It's precisely what the research from other states shows and what we've been stressing. Eligibility does not mean access.”
Zooming in
While thousands of families from the Austin area were awarded TEFA funds, over 1,000 families did not participate in the program after being accepted by the program, according to an information request by Community Impact to the state comptroller. For example, although 574 families zoned for Leander ISD were accepted by the program, 215 opted out, according to the data.
Colangelo said the timing of the program did not give schools much time “to get up and running.” She said that families might not be familiar with the private school admissions process and did not have enough time to research “that perfect spot.” She said the association will continue to work to support those families for the next year.
“We'll have more time and more outreach going forward to get those families that applied for a spot in a school that's perfect for them,” Colangelo said.
More than half of program recipients came from families at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, which is about $66,000 for a family of four, according to the Aug. 10 news release. The same release indicates that nearly one in five TEFA recipients were students with documented disabilities whose family’s annual household income was at or below 500% of the federal poverty line, about $165,000 for a family of four.
“Families that could not afford [private schools] are the ones that got the accounts,” Colangelo said. “That's what we worked really hard to make sure, that families that have lower incomes and children with special needs were prioritized.”
The local impact
Jay Burcham, president of Brentwood Christian School in North Austin, said more than 200 of the school’s nearly 700 students are participating in the program. Through this program, many families were able to send their children to a private school for the first time ever, Burcham said.
Since tuition for Brentwood Christian School begins at $12,510, TEFA allocations do not fully cover the cost of attendance for awarded families. Burcham said that while schools in the range of Brentwood Christian School are “more accessible” for many families, other private schools can cost up to $30,000.
“It's not like [TEFA] just flew through the door open to all of them,” Burcham said. “You still have to have some discernment over what you can afford, how much TEFA pays.”
Measuring the impact
Burcham said that despite the gap between tuition and TEFA funding, the school is still seeing interest from families participating in the program. He added that the school works with families to manage the cost of attendance through efforts such as uniform resales and providing vouchers.
“We have not had any families that have said [the difference] is too big of a bridge to close,” Burcham said. “They can do a payout plan over the year. We work with them. All sorts of options.”
Burcham said for many families whose children were already enrolled in the school, the TEFA program has provided stability, especially for those who are “most vulnerable,” such as parents of students who need extra learning support and lower-earning families.
Burcham said Brentwood Christian School hosted four community forums open to individuals beyond the school who were interested in learning about the TEFA program, drawing several hundred attendees at each event.
Burcham said that many private schools work with public schools, which he calls a “safety net,” noting that Brentwood Christian School works closely with neighboring elementary schools such as McBee and Rosedale.
Going forward
Colangelo said the Texas Private Schools Association works with member schools to help them navigate the process of becoming a participating school and to help families participate.
“I do think with increased use, understanding and just having a year under our belts, that more families will understand there were more options that were available to them,” Colangelo said. “... There are a lot of people ready and willing to talk to families and explain a little bit more [about] the options that they have.”
