What a Texas Education Freedom Account can pay for
TEFA covers more than tuition. Credentialed tutoring, therapies, textbooks, uniforms, dual credit, CTE, testing, transportation and some technology all qualify. Every category below shows the rule for each type of account, what's excluded, and what it looks like for Houston families. 2026-27 amounts: $10,474 private school · up to $30,000 with an IEP · $2,000 homeschool.
School costs
Private school tuition
Tuition at a participating private school is the first thing most Houston TEFA accounts pay — and the amount must be the same as non-TEFA families pay.
Rules →School costsSchool fees: registration, books, technology, activities
The May 2026 guidelines list which school fees TEFA can pay — and the three kinds it cannot.
Rules →School costsSchool uniforms
Uniforms required by the school, provider or course are an eligible expense.
Rules →School costsPre-K tuition
TEFA pays $10,474 for eligible pre-K and kindergarten students at approved providers.
Rules →School costsMicroschool & hybrid program fees
Whether TEFA pays $10,474 or $2,000 at a microschool depends on how the microschool participates.
Rules →Academic support
Tutoring & teaching services
Credentialed tutoring is one of the largest marketplace categories — and the one with the clearest credential rule.
Rules →Academic supportDyslexia & reading intervention
Dyslexia therapy and structured-literacy tutoring can be paid as tutoring or as an educational therapy, depending on who delivers it.
Rules →Academic supportTesting & assessments
Academic assessment costs are eligible — norm-referenced tests, AP and college admissions exams, and evaluations.
Rules →Therapies
Speech-language therapy
Speech therapy is one of the educational therapies TEFA names explicitly.
Rules →TherapiesOccupational & physical therapy
OT and PT are eligible educational therapies from approved practitioners.
Rules →TherapiesBehavioral therapy & autism support
Behavioral therapy is named among the common eligible educational therapies.
Rules →Learning materials
Textbooks, curriculum & instructional materials
Textbooks and instructional materials required by the school, provider or course are eligible — and for homeschool families, curriculum is the main use of the $2,000.
Rules →Learning materialsOnline courses & virtual programs
Online and out-of-state programs can be paid if the provider applies and is approved.
Rules →Technology
Electives & college
Dual credit & college courses
Dual-credit courses at a higher education provider are a named eligible expense.
Rules →Electives & collegeCareer & technical education (CTE)
CTE program fees, materials and courses that lead to a TEA-approved industry-based credential are eligible.
Rules →Electives & collegeClasses at a public or charter school
Fees for classes or services from a school district or charter school are eligible — as long as the student isn't counted as enrolled there.
Rules →Electives & collegeEnrichment: music, arts, STEM & sports
Enrichment is a marketplace category — music, arts, coding, STEM, martial arts, swim — when offered by an approved vendor as education.
Rules →Other
Transportation
Fee-for-service transportation to and from an approved provider or vendor is eligible.
Rules →OtherBefore- and after-school care
One of the most common questions — and one of the clearest no's.
Rules →How purchases actually happen
Through the marketplace
All approved purchases and tuition payments go through the Odyssey platform. There's no cash and no paying a vendor outside the system.
Approved providers only
Schools, tutors, therapists and vendors must be approved by the Comptroller. They can apply any time, and new ones are added regularly.
Houston providers →Never to a family member
The account can't pay a family member. Refunds go back to the account, never to the parent.
Want a spending plan for your child's account?
An advisor matches your account to the categories that apply and to Houston providers who are approved to be paid from it.