The state has funded Texas Education Freedom Accounts for 85,344 students as the state school voucher program enters its inaugural year, making it the third-largest education savings account program in the nation.
That is according to a snapshot document produced by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts released on Aug. 1, which also highlighted that the office received around 274,000 applications, with more than 248,000 students determined eligible.
However, more than 121,000 students are still on the waiting list — the largest school choice waiting list in the country.
The report also found that almost 25% of participating students have a qualifying disability and that 80% of participating students are from families with household incomes
below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
Here's a deeper dive into the report and a look at major school districts in Texas.
Texas school vouchers by race, ethnicity
The following table shows the number of students who applied for vouchers and the number funded, by race and ethnicity.
Texas school vouchers by gender
The following table shows the number of students who applied for vouchers and the number funded, by gender.
Texas school vouchers by grade level
The following table shows the number of students who applied for vouchers and the number funded, by grade levels.
Texas school vouchers by household income
The following table shows the number of students who applied for vouchers and the number funded, by household income.
Major school districts seeing students enter the school voucher program
The report also broke down the top 10 public school districts that are seeing the most students participating in the program:
- Houston ISD — 3,327 students
- Dallas ISD — 2,645 students
- Northside ISD (San Antonio) — 2,271 students
- Fort Bend ISD — 2,024 students
- Fort Worth ISD — 1,764 students
- Cypress-Fairbanks ISD — 1,596 students
- North East ISD — 1,536 students
- Conroe ISD — 1,297 students
- Katy ISD — 1,156 students
- Plano ISD — 1,140 students
When did Texas pass its school voucher law?
The $1 billion TEFA program was created by Senate Bill 2, authored by then-state Sen. Brandon Creighton — now chancellor of the Texas Tech University System — during the 89th Texas Legislature in 2025.
It was signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on May 3, 2025, and funds began going to families for the 2026-27 school year.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas funds 85,344 students in first year of new school voucher program
