More than 53,000 additional Texas students will receive school choice funding this week, as hundreds of thousands of families continue competing for limited spots in the program.
Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that the latest round of Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) awards will go to students in lower-income households, expanding the state’s first statewide school choice program in its inaugural year.
The newly awarded students qualified under Tier 2, which includes families earning at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level—roughly $66,000 annually for a family of four.
“Texas families have waited a long time for school choice, and the response to TEFA shows just how much this opportunity means to parents across our state,” said Hancock. “This first year is groundbreaking for Texas. More students will now have access to an education path that fits their needs, and the Comptroller’s office is working carefully to launch this program the right way and serve families well.”
The latest round builds on more than 42,600 students in the program’s top priority tier—students with disabilities and their siblings—who were already awarded funding last month.
But demand for the program far exceeds available funding, which was set at $1 billion for the program’s first year.
According to a program update released by the comptroller’s office, more than 274,000 applications were submitted during the initial application window.
Of those, more than 72,000 Tier 2 students qualified for the lottery and over 133,000 additional students in lower priority tiers are still awaiting placement or waitlist status.
Because funding is limited, state law required officials to distribute Tier 2 awards through a random lottery, with students placed in sequential order and remaining applicants moved to a waitlist.
The comptroller’s office said the lottery was conducted using a random number generator and observed by representatives from the State Auditor’s Office and outside advisers from Ernst & Young.
Families receiving awards this week will be notified by email and must decide by July 15 whether to accept funding, enroll in a participating private school, choose a homeschool option, or opt out of the program.
As families decline awards or resolve appeals, additional funding could become available to students currently on the waitlist.
