{"id":263866,"date":"2026-04-24T04:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T04:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/263866\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T04:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T04:29:07","slug":"therapy-offered-under-newly-awarded-texas-education-freedom-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/263866\/","title":{"rendered":"Therapy offered under newly-awarded Texas Education Freedom Accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – As more families receive state approval for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts<\/a>, companies are reminding parents that the money can be used to pay for therapy as well as tuition.<\/p>\n

Students under the Tier 1 category were approved this week. That includes students who have a documented disability and come from a household that falls at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty level or were siblings of a qualifying family member.<\/p>\n

When it comes to students with disabilities, families are allowed to use the state money for educational therapies – including speech, occupational, and physical – that is not covered by any federal, state, or local government benefits (i.e., Medicaid).<\/p>\n

Providers must be found through the state\u2019s Odyssey portal<\/a>, as every purchase is tracked and verified by the state.<\/p>\n

Coral Care<\/a> is one of the approved platforms. Jen Wirt started the company after seeking care for her oldest daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she was a baby, she had developmental delays,\u201d Wirt said. \u201cShe wasn\u2019t hitting her gross motor milestones. She wasn\u2019t comfortable on her belly, wasn\u2019t rolling over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wirt flagged the concerns to her pediatrician and was sent on a path to find a physical therapist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took seven months to get off waitlists, to get her first evaluation only to wait another six or seven months to get her into care,\u201d Wirt said. \u201cThe whole process of navigating it was awful and I just had it in me that there has to be a better way to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coral Care matches families with licensed providers for at-home, specialty care for a child\u2019s needs. The company operates as a marketplace where parents can search for local therapists who come to the home first for an evaluation and then for weekly ongoing care.<\/p>\n

Wirt says an at-home therapist more beneficial than relying on school therapists.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents are getting mixed messages. The whole idea of getting school-based support is like, \u2018oh this will be handled when my child goes to school\u2019, but that\u2019s not always the case,\u201d Wirt said. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason it\u2019s advised to get kids in [therapy] as early as possible. It\u2019s much easier to guide them and get them to better outcomes if you start them earlier in care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wirt said families often do not know what an occupational therapist is or whether their concerns warrant professional help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen something is going on with your child, you are so motivated to help them,\u201d Wirt said. \u201cAnd unfortunately, in this space, whether it\u2019s through state programs or trying to find someone in private, there\u2019s just so many things in the way. And it can really make you feel like you\u2019re failing your child because you know the help they need. You just can\u2019t get it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coral Care has 200 licensed therapists operating in Texas. All 200 will be registered in the TEFA marketplace before July 1.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also bringing in about 100 new clinicians a month. Many work in schools part-time and see children through Coral Care in the afternoons, evenings and weekends.<\/p>\n

For an evaluation and ongoing weekly care, the cost is about $5,500 a year for self-pay. A child could receive a full year of care with the funds available through the TEFA program, Wirt said.<\/p>\n

Part of the state funds will be released on July 1, but Wirt encourages families to establish a provider now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment those funds become available I suspect it\u2019s going to be a bit of a frenzy with families saying I can finally do this,\u201d Wirt said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re here \u2014 our providers are available, they have capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children who start therapy before July 1 should arrive at that date with an established therapist, documented baselines and an active treatment plan. Transitioning payment to TEFA on July 1 does not disrupt the therapist relationship.<\/p>\n

Coral Care accepts BCBS Texas, Baylor Scott & White Health Plan and Curative insurance. It\u2019s also offering a discount to families wanting to establish care before TEFA funding becomes available. You can use the promo code \u2018TEXASFAMILIES\u2019 for $100 off your first evaluation.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – As more families receive state approval for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, companies are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-263866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}