Awarding the contract to the private administrator of the program\u2014known as a certified educational assistance organization (CEAO)\u2014marks a key milestone in the voucher rollout as the comptroller delegates control of almost every facet of the program, from handling applications and approvals for students to accepting the private schools and other vendors eligible to participate, plus controlling the flow of state money to and fro. Odyssey will also be in charge of the marketing and PR involved with promoting and defending the program, which the state has dubbed \u201cTexas Education Freedom Accounts.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Voucher funds will be eligible to be used not only for participating private schools\u2019 tuition and homeschooling but also for tutoring services and an array of other educational materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abbott staked much of his hard-earned political capital, and campaign cash, on getting the school voucher program over the finish line. In the 2024 Republican primaries, he used his political war chest to oust several anti-voucher incumbents who\u2019d previously blocked passage in the Texas House. This effort was aided by a record $6 million in campaign contributions from Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania billionaire and voucher advocate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the legislative session, Odyssey tapped lobbyist Luis Saenz, who was previously Abbott\u2019s longtime chief of staff, to work on its behalf as the governor worked to pass the bill (It also made Daniel Warner, ex-Speaker Dade Phelan\u2019s education policy advisor, its state director.)<\/p>\n
For PR, Odyssey will also turn to Abbott allies, according to its bid proposal<\/a>, which the Observer obtained under state open records law: Odyssey hired the Austin firm Vianovo to run public relations for the program, with a team that includes John Wittman, Abbott\u2019s former communications director, and Matthew Hirsch, Abbott\u2019s ex-deputy chief of staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cVianovo will serve as the lead for proactive media engagement across Texas, building relationships with journalists, pitching positive stories about the Program, and coordinating interviews with Comptroller staff, participating families, school leaders, vendors and providers,\u201d the proposal states. It would also handle any turbulence that may emerge. \u201cIn the event of controversy or misinformation, Vianovo will provide crisis communications strategy, issue rapid response guidance, and ensure a consistent, aligned message across stakeholders.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In rolling out the program, Odyssey said in its bid proposal that it plans to partner with a long list of \u201coutside stakeholders\u201d to \u201craise awareness\u201d of private school vouchers in Texas. Those entities include powerful conservative organizations: the American Federation of Children, Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, the Texas Home School Coalition, and Texas Values Action. Those groups provided considerable political support to Abbott as he campaigned for legislative support around vouchers over the past two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Odyssey\u2019s contract will cost the state a total of $26 million for 2026 and 2027 with an option to extend for two more years beyond that, as well as $2 million a year for a marketing campaign. The law stipulates that the state can pay such vendors, or CEAOs, up to 5 percent of the biennial funding, which is currently $1 billion. The ceiling for the contract value could dramatically increase in the future as the program\u2019s costs are projected to jump to around $5 billion by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n Odyssey\u2019s bid was the lowest, according to the Houston Chronicle<\/a>, compared with $40 million from Classwallet and $50 million from StudentFirst Technologies. The comptroller also graded Odyssey higher than those two competitors on its qualifications, performance in other states, and plan to implement the program in Texas, per the Chronicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n The New York technology firm has become one of the most popular players in its rapidly growing niche market<\/a>. Odyssey was founded in 2021 by Joseph Connor, who had already made a career <\/a>in school privatization as a lawyer, consultant, and founder of a \u201cmicroschools\u201d company. Connor also wrote an amicus brief<\/a> for a critical 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that state-funded private school vouchers did not equate to religious discrimination.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n As the Texas Tribune has reported<\/a>, Odyssey also won a $500,000 contest for education innovation founded by Yass and his wife. In response to the prize, Connor celebrated the Yass family for launching \u201can incredible movement to push for school choice and education freedom nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n Odyssey pitched itself to Texas as the only vendor capable of providing a fully automated system to administer all facets of the program. \u201cFrom application to eligibility and funding to spending, our system removes friction and delivers real-time support. As the pioneer in the space, and still the only provider able to verify identity and deliver eligibility determinations in seconds, we\u2019ve demonstrated how automation can expand access while ensuring integrity,\u201d Connor wrote in the bid proposal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Critics have pointed to issues that Odyssey has had in running similar voucher programs in other states.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGiven Odyssey\u2019s track record of operational mismanagement and misuse of state funds in much smaller voucher programs, Texans should sound the alarm about the Comptroller\u2019s decision to entrust Odyssey with $1 billion of our taxpayer dollars and the educational outcomes of our children,\u201d said Maggie Stern of the public education advocacy group Our Schools Our Democracy in a statement last month. \u201cWe urge the Comptroller to ensure that discretionary information is included in a thorough and public annual audit on how Odyssey manages Texas\u2019 voucher program.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s work on other state voucher programs has been met with complaints. In 2022, Odyssey won its first statewide contract in Idaho to run that state\u2019s voucher-like program. As Idaho Education News reported<\/a>, the State Board of Education identified $180,000 in ineligible purchases under the program, though a later audit identified a smaller dollar amount and the governor gave \u201cthe program a clean bill of health,\u201d the Idaho outlet reported<\/a>. Odyssey also had to turn over interest<\/a> it had earned from holding program funds in a bank account. In Iowa, the state auditor found<\/a> the company\u2019s contract increased beyond its initial cost to account for transaction fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n The contract stipulates that Odyssey could face penalties if it does not meet certain performance standards, such as keeping its online platforms running and promptly processing transactions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a letter<\/a> to the Texas Attorney General, Odyssey argued against release of certain materials related to its bid that it deemed confidential. \u201cGiven the importance of government contracts in this business segment, any insight into the process, and specifically how to win a government contract has significant commercial value,\u201d the company wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Odyssey also hired a group called Outschool.org to assist with what it called \u201cgrassroots\u201d marketing of the program\u2014with an emphasis on homeschooling families, who its bid pointed out are expected to make up a large share of program participants and \u201cface distinct barriers\u201d including \u201cconcerns over government interference, regulatory confusion, and lack of support.\u201d Odyssey and Outschool would partner with state home school groups, including the Texas Home School Coalition, as well as TikTok influencers to \u201cdeliver program information from trusted voices.\u201d Steel Digital Studios<\/a> was also hired as a subcontractor for Odyssey, charged with heading up its advertising services. That Austin firm has previously done work with Texas state agencies and universities, in addition to local school districts.\u00a0<\/p>\n The next phase in the voucher rollout\u2014applications open in February 2026\u2014will be for Odyssey to set up an online \u201cmarketplace\u201d of approved private schools, along with other education vendors to provide eligible services like tutoring, online learning, and curriculum material. Odyssey will be fully in charge of that marketplace, vetting each potential vendor and either providing its recommendations to the comptroller or, if the state chooses, making unilateral decisions on vendors.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Membership-Banner-Aug-2024-Evergreen.png\")
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