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How it works<\/p>\n
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<\/a>, transportation and other qualifying costs.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colangelo said families might opt to send their children to private school \u201cfor any number of reasons,\u201d including a child\u2019s academic needs, bullying issues and family preference for faith-based education.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we represent private schools, we are not anti-public schools,\u201d Colangelo said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> from the comptroller.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d said Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency<\/a>, in an Aug. 13 news release. \u201cIt’s precisely what the research from other states shows and what we’ve been stressing. Eligibility does not mean access.\u201d<\/p>\n Zooming in<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Colangelo said the timing of the program did not give schools much time \u201cto get up and running.\u201d She said that families might not be familiar with the private school admissions process and did not have enough time to research \u201cthat perfect spot.\u201d She said the association will continue to work to support those families for the next year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’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,\u201d Colangelo said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s annual household income was at or below 500% of the federal poverty line, about $165,000<\/a> for a family of four.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies that could not afford [private schools] are the ones that got the accounts,\u201d Colangelo said. \u201cThat’s what we worked really hard to make sure, that families that have lower incomes and children with special needs were prioritized.\u201d<\/p>\n The local impact<\/p>\n Jay Burcham, president of Brentwood Christian School in North Austin, said more than 200 of the school\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n![\"chart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788925333_423_thumbnail.jpeg\")
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