The Texas Comptroller’s office has awarded nearly 3,800 additional Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) to students previously held on the program’s waitlist. This newest round of allocations brings the total number of statewide state-funded accounts to just under 100,000 for the program’s inaugural year.
The waitlist adjustment comes as the program faces its earliest regulatory deadlines, with the state scheduled to issue its first electronic deposits by July 1 and requiring families to formally verify school enrollment by July 15 to secure their funding.
According to data released by the Comptroller’s office, the new selections are divided into two main categories: 3,317 students transitioned off the waitlist after previous awardees opted out or shifted to lower-tier funding tracks, while an additional 294 accounts were granted to students whose special-education eligibility was verified through Texas Education Agency records. Roughly 1,400 previously selected families have declined their spots, leaving 98,000 active, funded accounts heading into the summer.
The Texas Legislature originally appropriated $1 billion for the program through Senate Bill 2 during the 2025 legislative session. However, more than 274,000 families submitted applications for the program’s initial rollout, meaning that even with ongoing waitlist updates, fewer than 37% of applicants will receive state funding.
For participating students, state law pins each account’s value to 85% of the statewide average per-student public school allocation. The Texas Education Agency has finalized this individual award amount at $10,474 per student for the 2026–2027 academic year. For families choosing home education or alternative options, the annual award drops to a fixed rate of $2,000.
Newly published demographic profiles from the Comptroller’s office provide the first detailed breakdown of the participant pool, showing that approximately 77% of awarded accounts belong to students coming from households living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Additionally, roughly 43% of the funded students were previously enrolled within the state’s public education system. Finally, about 70% of participants are projected to enter private schools this fall, with the remainder utilizing home education tracks.
The rollout coincides with separate state education data showing that Texas public school enrollment declined by more than 76,000 students during the 2025–2026 school term. State analysts emphasize that this enrollment drop occurred prior to any state school-choice spending, indicating the contraction stems from separate demographic shifts rather than the new program.
While choice advocates point to the data to justify immediate legislative expansion, critics continue to express concern over program oversight, student selection priorities, and the long-term fiscal impact on traditional public school budgets.