Texas TEFA for homeschool families: the $2,000, what it covers and how to track it

How much TEFA pays in 2026-27

The amount depends on where your child learns and, for private school students, on whether they have an IEP. Household income doesn't change the amount. It only decides who gets picked first when there are more applicants than money.

The private school amount is 85% of the state's estimated average funding per student, which TEA set at $10,474 for this year. The amount for students with disabilities depends on the IEP and the school district, and most students get less than $30,000. Homeschool awards stay at $2,000 even with an IEP. Your award notice is the final word on your child's amount.

To see your child's amount and deposit dates in one place, try our free Texas TEFA calculator.

When the money arrives

Homeschool families get the whole award in one deposit. The date depends on when you opted in:

• Opted in by June 15: funded July 1.
• Opted in by July 31: funded by mid-August.
• Picked from the waitlist later: funded "as soon as practicable."

If you came off the waitlist after July 15, your award may be prorated depending on when you confirmed:

Private school accounts are paid in three parts: 25% on July 1 or mid-August, 25% on October 1, and the last 50% on February 1, 2027, as long as the child stays enrolled in a participating private school.

What you can spend TEFA money on

Texas law lists the approved expenses, and Odyssey's help center lists them in more detail. For a homeschool family, the ones that come up most are:

• Textbooks, curriculum and instructional materials.
• Online courses and programs from approved providers, including out-of-state providers registered to do business in Texas.
• Private tutoring. The tutor must hold an active teaching certificate.
• Dual-credit courses at a college or university.
• Academic tests and assessments.
• Educational therapies, such as speech, occupational, physical or behavioral therapy, but only the part not covered by Medicaid, another government benefit or private insurance your child has.
• Career and technical education and industry credential courses approved by TEA.
• Classes or services from a public school district or charter that don't count your child in the school's attendance.
• Transportation by a paid transportation provider to and from an approved provider.
• Technology, within the 10% limit below.

What TEFA won't pay for

• Paying a family member. You can't pay yourself, a grandparent or an older sibling to teach or tutor.
• Anything from a vendor or provider that isn't approved in Odyssey, even if the item itself would qualify.
• Items over Odyssey's price caps, such as STEM kits and learning manipulatives over $300 or instruments over $1,000. A listing over the cap won't be approved.
• Therapy already covered by Medicaid, another government program or your insurance.

The 10% technology limit (it's $200 for homeschoolers)

Technology spending can't go over 10% of the amount deposited into your child's account for the year. On a $2,000 homeschool award, that's $200 per child for all technology combined. Money rolled over from last year doesn't raise the limit, because it's based on the year's deposit.

Odyssey counts all of these toward the 10%:

• Laptops, tablets, desktops and monitors
• Webcams, printers, computer accessories and calculators
• Internet hot spots
• Software programs
• Headphones (also capped at $300 each) and cameras (capped at $500)
• 3D printers (one a year)

For a homeschool family the $200 limit applies before any of those caps do: a $250 pair of headphones is under Odyssey's $300 cap but still over the $200 limit.

Keep a running total. If you buy a $59 calculator in August and a $129 software subscription in January, you have $12 of technology room left until next year's deposit.

How spending works in Odyssey

TEFA money never lands in your bank account. It sits in your child's account on Odyssey, the company that runs TEFA accounts for the Texas Comptroller, and it leaves that account in one of two ways:

1. Marketplace orders. You order curriculum, books and supplies from approved vendors inside the Odyssey marketplace, and the vendor is paid from the account.
2. Provider payments. An approved provider, such as a tutor, online school or therapist, is paid from your child's account through Odyssey.

TEFA is built around paying approved vendors and providers directly. Don't buy something with your own card expecting to be paid back. Make sure the vendor or provider is approved in Odyssey first.

Orders and provider payments can sit as pending while they're reviewed. Count pending orders as spent when you plan, so you don't promise the same dollars twice.

Money you don't spend

Money left at the end of the school year rolls over as long as your child stays in TEFA. You don't have to rush to spend the full $2,000 by June. Families with younger children sometimes keep part of each year's award for more expensive courses, dual credit or testing in the high school years.

Your child's eligibility ends if they enroll in a Texas public or charter school, move out of Texas or graduate from high school.

Records to keep for audits

The Comptroller hires an outside firm to audit TEFA accounts and eligibility at least once a year, and the State Auditor reviews whether the money went to approved expenses. Odyssey keeps its own order history, but keep your own record too. It's what you'll need if a purchase is questioned, and it's how you keep track of the technology limit.

For every purchase, keep:

• The date, vendor or provider, and amount
• The approved-expense category it falls under
• The Odyssey order or payment confirmation
• The receipt or invoice, if the vendor sent one
• One sentence on how it supports your child's education ("Saxon Math 5/4 for 4th grade math")
• Whether it counts as technology, and your running technology total
• Which child it's for, if you have more than one in TEFA

Keep a copy of your award notice and opt-in confirmation with these records as well.

What's next for 2027-28

• If your child is in TEFA now, you don't need to reapply. The official site says participants in good standing stay in the program automatically.
• If you're applying for the first time, the 2027-28 application dates haven't been announced. For 2026-27 the window ran February 4 to March 17, 2026. You can join the interest list on educationfreedom.texas.gov (opens in a new tab) to hear when it opens.
• Siblings come first in year two. For 2027-28, siblings of current participants are picked first, then new applicants, then former participants who left for public school. Within each group the year-one order applies, starting with children with disabilities and lower-income households.
• Expect competition. More than 274,000 students applied for year one, about 248,000 were eligible, and with a $1 billion budget about 122,000 had been selected by late July. More than 121,000 students were on the waitlist as of early August. Funding beyond year one depends on the Legislature, which meets in 2027.

Quick answers

Tools to keep TEFA simple

Sources

• TEFA families page (opens in a new tab), Texas Comptroller (amounts, approved expenses, rollover, audits, priority order; last modified Sep 29, 2026)
• Funding timelines and installments (opens in a new tab), Texas Comptroller (deposit dates and proration; Jun 4, 2026, modified Aug 24, 2026)
• What are eligible educational expenses for TEFA? (opens in a new tab), Odyssey help center
• Price caps and purchase restrictions for TEFA (opens in a new tab), Odyssey help center
• What amount of funding will be available? (opens in a new tab), Odyssey help center
• 85K students will use new Texas Education Freedom Accounts this school year (opens in a new tab), Community Impact, Aug 4, 2026 (application, selection and waitlist numbers)