State
BY HANNAH NORTON
Texas families can apply to receive state funds for private education or homeschooling from Feb. 4-March 17 under the state’s new education savings account program, known as Texas Education Freedom Accounts. Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, most families accepted into the $1 billion program will receive $10,474 per student to spend on private education and related expenses. Students with disabilities will be eligible for up to $30,000 annually, while homeschooled students will receive up to $2,000 per year. Over 1,000 private schools and pre-K providers, many of which are located in and around Texas’ largest cities, will participate in the program, according to the state comptroller’s office. ESA applications open in February
Approved Texas private schools As of Jan. 14, 1,014 private schools had been approved to accept education savings accounts. Texas has over 1,300 accredited private schools.
What to expect
If demand for the education savings account program exceeds the $1 billion available, the comptroller’s office will use a lottery system to determine acceptance, with priority for students with disabilities and low-income families. To be eligible for the program, a student must: • Reside in Texas • Be a U.S. citizen or lawful resident • Be eligible to attend a Texas public school, open-enrollment charter school or pre-K program Students must be enrolled in a pre-K program or private school to receive the $10,474 in private education funding, according to the program website. This means that some families may need to apply to private schools before they are accepted into the ESA program.
1 Houston area: 297 2 Dallas-Fort Worth area: 262 3 San Antonio area: 134
7 Rio Grande Valley: 46 8 Central Texas: 30
9 West Texas: 27 10 El Paso area: 12 11 North Texas: 11 12 Panhandle: 9
4 Austin area: 89 5 East Texas: 49 6 South Texas: 48
Community Impact coverage areas
THE COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE PERIODICALLY UPDATES ITS DATABASE AS ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS ARE ACCEPTED INTO THE PROGRAM.
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SOURCES: TEXAS COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE AND TEXAS PRIVATE SCHOOL ACCREDITATION COMMISSION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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