ESA & school choice
ESA & School Choice in Texas
Texas families ask whether an education savings account can help fund homeschooling. Here's what the Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) offers, who qualifies, the trade-offs, and how to keep ESA records.
Start tracking freeSchool choice & ESA
Open to homeschool familiesProgram
Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA)
Up to $2,000 / student / year
Homeschool-eligible amount. Some programs pay private-school students more.
Who qualifies and what you give up
Texas homeschool families qualify for a fixed $2,000 per child per year (private school students separately get up to $10,474). Eligibility tracks the public-school residency rules, with priority for low-income families and students with disabilities. Texas does not require you to register or notify a school district to homeschool, and TEFA does not change that.
Taking the funds means accepting TEFA's spending constraints. All purchases must run through the TEFA marketplace from approved providers, no more than 10% can go to computer hardware or software, and you cannot use the funds to pay yourself or another family member for teaching your child. Receipts and provider records are kept by the marketplace. There is no recurring expense report for the homeschool track — participants in good standing stay enrolled automatically and only confirm they want to continue, while the Comptroller contracts an annual audit of accounts and eligibility. Verified 2026-08-06; the program's first cohort enrolled roughly 96,000 students for 2026-27.
Deeper guides: homeschool ESAs explained — which states offer them in 2026 covers eligibility and the trade-offs you sign up for. How to use an ESA for homeschool curriculum walks through what's reimbursable and where families get stuck.
Homeschool Fox tracks receipts and learning plans against ESA reporting requirements automatically.
Common questions
Is an ESA available to homeschoolers in Texas?
Does taking Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) change my homeschool status?
What Homeschool Fox tracks for Texas
Everything Texas expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.
- Required hours or days
- Required subjects & core hours
- Daily activity logs
- Attendance records
- Notes & portfolio records
- Printable PDF reports
- High school transcripts
- State-specific progress tracking
More Texas guides
- Texas Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
- How to Start Homeschooling in Texas A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
- Homeschooling High School in Texas Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
- Record Keeping in Texas What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
- How to Withdraw From School in Texas The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
- Moving to Texas What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
- Required Subjects in Texas The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
Keep ESA-ready records in Texas
Homeschool Fox logs hours and tracks receipts and learning plans against ESA reporting requirements, so you're audit-ready.
Start tracking free14-day free trial. No credit card required.