Texas’ new Education Freedom Account program has hit another milestone as it reaches the halfway point of its initial six‑week application window. More than 130,000 student applications have now been submitted and over 2,000 schools have signed up to participate.
The family application period for Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) opened February 4 and runs through March 17, giving parents six weeks to apply for the state’s new school choice program.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that, just three weeks in, applications have already climbed past 130,000 students—well above the roughly 100,000 students lawmakers initially projected the program could serve in its first year.
The comptroller’s office noted that demand was evident from the outset. In the first hour after the portal opened, families submitted more than 8,000 applications, and more than 42,000 came in on the first day alone. Less than two weeks later, TEFA had already surpassed 100,000 applications, making it the largest launch of a new school choice program in U.S. history, according to state officials.
TEFA was authorized by Senate Bill 2 after Gov. Greg Abbott made school choice a top legislative priority. Under the program, eligible families can receive state funds beginning with the 2026–27 school year to help cover private school tuition and fees, homeschooling costs, or other approved educational services.
Most applicants so far intend to use the funds for private school enrollment, while a smaller share plans to use them for homeschooling or other learning options.
Students may receive more than $10,000 per year for private school tuition, up to $30,000 annually for students with disabilities, or roughly $2,000 for home education expenses.
Lawmakers appropriated about $1 billion for the program’s first year—an amount expected to cover around 100,000 students—meaning demand is already on track to outpace available funding.
Hancock is urging families not to wait until the last minute, but he also emphasized that timing will not affect eligibility. “Texas families are making their voices heard and signing up for school choice in huge, record‑breaking numbers,” he said, adding that parents who apply now “will have the same chance of receiving funding as families who applied on the first day.”
Applications are not approved on a first‑come, first‑served basis. All families who complete and finalize their applications by March 17 will be placed into the same pool.
As demand exceeds funding, the state will use a lottery system that prioritizes students with disabilities and students from lower‑ and middle‑income households.
Supporters say the response confirms that parents across Texas want more control over their children’s education.
“Texas families are embracing a new era of educational freedom at historic levels,” Hancock said, describing TEFA as “a significant investment in expanding educational opportunity and supporting long‑term workforce readiness.”
Gov. Abbott has likewise touted the early numbers as proof that “families overwhelmingly want school choice” and argued that the program is putting parents “in the driver’s seat” regardless of where they live or how much they earn.
With three weeks left in the application window and interest already exceeding the program’s first‑year capacity, the question now is whether lawmakers will expand TEFA in the next legislative session to allow every student who applies to participate.
