TEFA-Accredited Schools in Greater Houston

TEFA stands for Texas Education Freedom Account, the state's new education savings account program. It gives approved families a state-funded account to pay for tuition, tutoring, and other eligible education expenses at approved schools and vendors.

Eligibility is decided through the state's application and approval process, run by the Comptroller's office and Odyssey, not by homeschool status alone. Roughly 77% of the first approved round had household income under $66,000. Check educationfreedom.texas.gov for the current eligibility rules before assuming your family does or doesn't qualify.

The official list covers tuition and fees, textbooks, uniforms, public or charter class fees, assessments, private tutoring, transportation, educational therapies, computer hardware and software (capped at 10%), and school meals. Enrichment, sports, and co-op fees aren't on the official list, but some are approved case by case through Odyssey when a vendor demonstrates an educational focus. Confirm with the specific vendor before assuming coverage.

The state's materials point toward a disability-related award of up to $30,000 per year, but this appears tied to enrollment at an accredited private school rather than available to homeschooling families generally. The exact disability criteria aren't fully spelled out in public materials we've reviewed, so we recommend confirming directly with the Comptroller's office if this applies to your family.

Yes, through TEFA. Homeschooling families who are approved receive $2,000 per year into an account they can spend on eligible expenses. It isn't a cash payment to the family directly; it flows through the Odyssey platform to approved vendors.

Yes. Texas is one of a growing number of states with education savings account programs that homeschooling families can use, alongside states like Florida, Arkansas, Utah, and others. Amounts and rules vary a lot by state; Texas's $2,000 homeschool tier is on the lower end nationally compared to some other ESA states.

Texas (TEFA), Florida (the Personalized Education Program), Arkansas, Utah, and several other states now run ESA-style programs that homeschooling families can access, each with its own award amounts and rules. This guide covers Texas; if you're comparing states, confirm current amounts directly with each state's program, since these numbers change often.

Homeschooling families approved for TEFA receive $2,000 per year, regardless of how many activities or programs the child is enrolled in. Families at an accredited private school can receive up to $10,474, and disability-related awards at accredited schools can go up to $30,000. See "Who Gets How Much" above for the full breakdown.