On Tuesday, the state announced the first distribution of Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) funds, with awards going to more than 42,000 Texas families under a program administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
The TEFA program, created to expand parental options in K-12 education, allows families to direct state funds toward private school tuition, instructional materials, and educational therapies. The Comptroller’s office, operating under Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, began notifying eligible families this week, starting with the program’s highest-priority tier.
“School choice funds being distributed to Texas families paves the way for Texas to become the No. 1 state for education,” Abbott said in a statement released by the Office of the Texas Governor. “These accounts will give parents the freedom to choose the best learning environment for their children, regardless of their income or location.”
The first notifications are going to students with qualifying disabilities in households at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty level, along with their siblings, according to the Governor’s office. The Comptroller’s office said additional students will receive TEFA fund awards in the coming weeks as the program processes remaining applicants by priority tier.
Abbott credited Hancock directly for the program’s launch. “I congratulate Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock for his work on kick-starting the program, aiding in the success of so many young Texans and the future of our great state,” Abbott said, according to the Governor’s office statement.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is responsible for administering the TEFA program, which prioritizes students with disabilities and those from low-income households. Eligible uses for the funds include private school enrollment, instructional materials, and educational therapies, according to the Governor’s office. The program does not restrict participation based on a family’s income level or geographic location within the state.
The Texas Education Agency reported in its 2024-2025 accountability data that Texas public schools serve approximately 5.4 million students statewide, providing context for the scale of the TEFA program’s initial 42,000-family rollout.
The TEFA program was established following the passage of school choice legislation during the Texas Legislature’s 2025 session, a priority Abbott had pursued across multiple legislative sessions after earlier efforts failed to advance.
The 2025 session marked the first time the Texas Legislature approved a statewide school choice program, ending years of legislative debate over publicly funded private school options. Texas joins more than 30 other states that have enacted some form of education savings account or school choice program, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Abbott said the distribution of TEFA funds represents a step toward his stated goal of making Texas the top-ranked state for education. The Comptroller’s office has not announced a specific timeline for completing all first-round notifications, but said remaining eligible students will be contacted in the weeks ahead as the office works through priority tiers established under the program’s guidelines.