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The Texas Education Freedom Account (TFA) program can be used to pay for preschool and pre-kindergarten (PK3, PK4) tuition at participating accredited private providers. For the 2026-2027 school year, eligible families may receive up to $10,474 in funding for early education expenses. Applications for the 2026-27 school year are open from February 4 to March 17, 2026.
- Eligible Expenses: Funds cover tuition, fees, uniforms, and specialized educational therapies at approved, accredited, or TEPSAC-recognized private programs.
- Eligibility Requirements: The child must be a Texas resident, a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted, and aged 3 or older. Priority is given to low-income families and students with disabilities.
- How to Apply: Applications are submitted online through the TEFA portal managed by Odyssey.
- Not First-Come, First-Served: Applications submitted between February 4 and March 17, 2026, have equal consideration, but the program is not available for all students due to funding limits.
The program aims to provide flexibility for families to choose early education options that best fit their child's needs. -
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Student Unique Identifiers (Student ID's)The source of truth for Texas Student Unique Identifiers (also known as a UID) is through your public school district (ISD) in which the IEP was created. Your district should have this identifier on record even if your student has been attending private school.
Alternatively, parents of students who have ever attended a public school can visit this website to look up their student's UID. Click on the “Student Look Up” button at the top center of the page which will open a screen where you can submit your child’s first name, social security number, and date of birth. If they have been registered in a public school, the website will provide their UID number.
Currently, this portal does not contain UID lookups for private school students with ISD IEPs. Private school student parents should contact the special education department of the ISD that completed your student’s IEP. If your child has only attended private school, your local public school district should be able to enter your student's IEP information into TEA's APEX system on your behalf. This will allow them to provide you with a UID.
If you have exhausted all methods of obtaining a UID, then you may enter "11111" followed by your zip code in the application instead of the Texas Unique Student Identifier. This will allow you to continue with the application. However, please note that the only way to ensure additional funding for a child with a disability is to have a validated IEP on file with TEA, which requires the child to have a valid Texas Unique Student Identifier (or UID). Please note that the only way to ensure additional SPED funding for TEFA is to have a validated IEP on file with TEA, which means the child has a valid Texas Unique Student Identifier (or UID).
For additional information on what special education criteria is applicable for additional funding and priority versus what special education criteria is applicable for only priority, please read this article.
https://tealprod.tea.state.tx.us/Tea.Widgets/Student/?qid=21&ref=
Link to Odyssey FAQ on Unique IDs:
https://support.withodyssey.com/hc/en-us/articles/46087293538331-Where-Can-a-Parent-Find-Their-Child-s-Texas-Student-Unique-ID-UID-Number-if-They-Do-Not-Have-It -
IEP'sReceived 3/17/26
If a parent has a child in tier 1 and is waiting final upload of their IEP into APEX or their UID number from their ISD and they have NOT received an email from Odyssey asking them to upload their IEP to verify the instructional code, they should email or call Odyssey to request an email with an upload link to upload their current IEP that has not been verified. Here is the number and email to contact Odyssey with this request:
help.tx@withodyssey.com
737-379-2362
This does not guarantee the extra funding, but it does ensure that the family remains in tier 1 prioritization while Odyssey continues to seek their official documents from TEA to verify them. Having a copy of the IEP document will help them to complete the verification, even after March 17, without parents losing their prioritization because they submit in advance of the deadline.