Some Spring-area families who applied for Texas Education Freedom Accounts have run into limits on how the money can be spent.
The state's new school-voucher program has awarded funds to 118,441 students as of Aug. 10, according to a TEFA fact sheet. The program, created by the Texas Legislature in 2025 through Senate Bill 2, provides $10,474 per private-school student, up to $30,000 for students with qualifying disabilities and $2,000 for homeschooled students. All spending must go through the Odyssey marketplace, a platform the state selected to administer accounts.
Two problems are surfacing as families try to use the money.
Dual-credit courses blocked
Houston-area parent Joseph Parle received a $2,000 homeschool award and expected to put it toward his son's dual-credit college coursework. The TEFA website lists that category as an eligible expense. But Parle learned the college would have to be an approved vendor on the Odyssey platform, and no colleges offering dual-credit courses were approved, KPRC 2 reported. Odyssey could not pay the college directly or reimburse him.
"This was very disappointing as I had anticipated that the $2,000 could be used to defray the costs of his college classes as part of his homeschool curriculum," Parle told the station.
The distinction matters: an expense can appear on the TEFA eligibility list yet remain unusable if no vendor offering it has been approved on Odyssey. The official media guide confirms all purchases must go through the marketplace.
Some schools pull back aid
The second barrier involves private schools adjusting their own financial aid after a family receives a TEFA award. KPRC 2 surveyed 286 participating schools and found responses varied. Some schools allow families to combine TEFA with school-based aid. Others require families to apply for TEFA first and reduce or eliminate school assistance after an award.
TEFA spokesperson Travis Pillow said in a May 2026 news release that schools may consider a student's TEFA award when analyzing a family's ability to pay. He told KPRC 2 the state does not dictate private schools' financial decisions but requires that students not be treated differently because they receive TEFA funds. Parents can report concerns at [email protected].
Spring families watching the waitlist
R.D. Pierce of Spring applied for TEFA for his daughters at MindSprout Montessori, a microschool with about 100 students in Old Town Spring. The family did not receive funding because their income placed them in Tier 4, the lowest-priority group, the Houston Chronicle reported.
"Unfortunately for us, at least this year, we're not going to get that benefit," Pierce told the Chronicle. "It definitely puts a lot more pressure on us."
Sixty-four percent of awarded households earn at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, roughly $66,000 for a family of four. Seventy percent of recipients were already in private school or homeschool before applying. The comptroller's office funded an additional 15,000 accounts from the waitlist in late August, with just over 100,000 applicants still waiting.
