Texas launched its Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program for the 2026-27 school year, funded at approximately $1 billion annually in taxpayer funds. The state comptroller's office reported 274,183 applications before the deadline and near 25,000 were found ineligible. More than 102,000 students are now participating. Among enrolled students who applied, 57% were in private schools and 43% were in public schools during the 2024-25 school year, according to AOL.
The comptroller's office also reported that roughly 75% of all applicants attended a private school or were homeschooled during the 2024-25 academic year, according to the Texas Tribune. That means taxpayer funds will mostly flow to families who had already chosen private education before the program existed.
The program sets per-student funding at $10,474 for students attending an approved private school, representing 85% of the statewide average state and local funding per student in average daily attendance. Home-schoolers can receive up to $2,000, and children with disabilities qualify for up to $30,000, per the Texas Education Freedom Accounts website.
Who applied
Data from the comptroller's office show that 45% of applicants are white, 23% Hispanic, and 12% Black. Low-income families at or below 200% of the federal poverty level make up 37% of applicants, and children with disabilities make up 16%, according to the Texas Tribune.
The program uses a four-tier priority system. Tier 1 covers children with disabilities at or below 500% FPL (12% of applicants). Tier 2 covers families at or below 200% FPL (32% of applicants). Tier 3 covers families between 200% and 500% FPL (29% of applicants). Tier 4 covers families at or above 500% FPL (22% of applicants), according to the Texas Tribune.
Because demand exceeded available funding, a lottery was conducted to decide placement among Tier 2 applicants and below, KTRE reported.
Pattern seen in other states
Texas's data mirrors a pattern documented in other states with universal or near-universal voucher programs. In a review of nine states with voucher programs (Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Wisconsin), more than 60% of voucher recipients had never attended a public school, according to Houston Public Media. Arkansas had the highest share at 95%.
North Carolina provides a similar example. After that state eliminated income caps and prior public school enrollment requirements for its voucher program, nearly 90% of universal voucher recipients were students already enrolled in private school, according to a state Department of Public Instruction report cited by Houston Public Media. The report also found that families with a child in private school earned nearly double the typical household income.
Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, studied in an ERIC-published analysis, showed patterns similar to other states where existing private school families are the primary beneficiaries, according to that analysis.
What research says
A September report from the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) found that voucher-like programs raised private school enrollment by 3-4% nationally, according to Houston Public Media. That finding indicates the biggest beneficiaries are families whose children already attend private school rather than students transferring from public schools.
Texas's own fiscal analysis projected that 87% of TEFA applicants would be students already attending private schools, according to Houston Public Media citing the state fiscal analysis. That projection was made before the application data was released. The comptroller's data showing roughly 75% of applicants were existing private school or homeschool students is consistent with that forecast.