Texas Education Freedom Accounts

09/30/2026

The Comptroller’s Office has awarded almost 2,400 additional waitlisted students! Log in to your parent portal to check for an updated status and award notification.

09/29/2026

📢 Upcoming TEFA Funding Installment & Enrollment Check 📢

The next 25% installment for TEFA awardees is scheduled to be distributed on October 1.

Prior to this funding installment, we will be checking public school enrollment records to verify that students receiving TEFA funds are no longer enrolled in a public school.

08/28/2026

The Comptroller’s office has awarded over 4,500 additional waitlisted students! Log in to your parent portal to check for an updated status and award notification.

08/20/2026

More than 109,000 Texas students are now participating in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program. From families seeking new opportunities to students with unique educational needs, Texans are using TEFA to pursue the educational path that works best for their children.

08/14/2026

08/12/2026

Yesterday’s announcement of nearly 15,000 additional TEFA awards brought up several common questions. Here are some quick answers:

𝟏. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭?
So far, more than 45,000 students have received awards since the waitlist was first created. All students still on the waitlist have moved up that number of spots from their original positions. Odyssey will notify all waitlisted families of their updated waitlist positions over the next week.

𝟐. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬?
Our goal is to accommodate as many students as possible in Year 1 while giving families reasonable time to make educational decisions and confirm enrollment for the coming school year.

𝟑. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬?
The program will continue issuing awards to students on the waitlist until all available funding has been allocated to participating students. Waitlisted families who receive an award will have four weeks from the date of their award to opt in and confirm enrollment.

𝟒. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫?
Our ability to serve students in future years depends on funding decisions made by the Texas Legislature. Students who do not participate this year will need to reapply in future years.

Learn more and read the full update:

The Comptroller’s office has awarded almost 15,000 additional Texas Education Freedom Accounts to students who were initially placed on the waitlist.

08/11/2026

We've funded almost 15,000 additional waitlisted students! Log in to your parent portal to check for an updated status and award notification.

07/25/2026

𝟏. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝?
Yes, purchases of most school supplies, clothing, footwear, and backpacks sold for less than $100 are exempt from state sales tax when purchased during the Texas Sales Tax Holiday.
https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/98-490/

𝟐. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐨𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧, 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝?
After you opt in, select a school, and the school confirms your participation, your account will be funded in our next scheduled batch. We're funding accounts every couple of weeks, and sooner when possible.

𝟑. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞?
We have worked with Odyssey to source laptops under $200, and in some cases they have secured only-in-Texas pricing to make affordable laptops accessible to participating families. However, laptops under $200 are in high demand, so the vendors may run out of stock. Odyssey and the Comptroller's office are working with vendors to find additional opportunities for the low-cost laptops.

𝟒. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭?
Every email platform manages its own spam filters. To ensure a sender's messages bypass the junk folder, you must add them to the Safe Senders list, Contacts, or create a bypass filter in that specific platform. The steps vary by provider:
• 𝐆𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥: Open the sender's email, click the three dots in the top right of the message, and click "Add [Name] to Contacts." You can also set up a rule by going to Settings, selecting "Filters and Blocked Addresses", and creating a rule to "Never send it to spam".
• 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 (𝐖𝐞𝐛): Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email. Under "Safe senders and domains," click "Add" and enter the email address or domain.
• 𝐘𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐥: Open the email and hover over the sender's name to click "Add to contacts."

07/17/2026

𝟏. 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩! 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐭-𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝟕/𝟏𝟓, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨?
Unfortunately, your private school award amount has expired, and your account has moved to the Homeschool/Other award amount, which is $2,000. If you still want to accept the TEFA award at this amount you must opt in by July 31st, or the award will fully expire.

𝟐. 𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨?
First, contact Odyssey at [email protected] and let them know what you’re looking for. While we cannot guarantee that a particular item will be added, the team will review the request and work to source it for the Marketplace. Then, if you know a vendor that sells the item or service you need, please reach out to them directly and invite them to apply to participate in the Marketplace.

𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐈 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬?
You can change schools at any time through the dropdown menu in your parent portal. Please note that you will not be able to spend money on the marketplace or pay tuition until your new school confirms your participation.

07/16/2026

We’re proud to partner with dedicated TEFA Marketplace vendors who are helping families access high-quality educational products and services across Texas.

Thank you to our vendors for supporting students, empowering parents, and expanding educational opportunities through the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program.

💬Read what one of our marketplace vendors had to say about their experience participating in TEFA.