How the money actually flows

Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) is an ESA program with limited/means-tested eligibility. Awards are ≈$10,474/yr for private-school students (85% of statewide per-student ADA); homeschool $2,000; disabilities up to $30,000. Payments run through Odyssey (Texas Comptroller is the program authority; TEA only verifies IEPs). Confirm the current details on the official program site before acting.

1. Confirm how the money flows. Texas families use Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) funds through Odyssey (Texas Comptroller is the program authority; TEA only verifies IEPs) to pay approved schools/providers. Your job is to be set up to receive them cleanly.

2. Get your business paperwork in order. Legal entity, tax ID (EIN), and proof you are a real operating school.

3. Meet the state requirements. Texas does not license, register, or accredit private schools; a 'bona fide' education in core subjects is the only requirement. Accreditation (e.g., TEPSAC) is voluntary.

4. Apply as an approved provider. Apply on a rolling basis via the Vendor Application at tefa-vendors.withodyssey.com; Odyssey + the Comptroller's office review before listing in the TEFA marketplace.

5. Keep clean invoicing & records. Program spending is documented and audited. Clear invoices and audit-ready records are how you get paid and stay clear.

Important for Texas: First operating year (2026-27). Dollar figures multi-source, not re-derived from primary funding table. Private-school-reg sentence is strong-secondary, not primary-fetched.

The one step that decides whether you get funded in Texas

We read the Texas rules and wrote up exactly what gates the money, what the regulation says word for word, and where founders stall.

Read the Texas funding gate →

Want us to walk the Texas approval with you?

Get set up in Texas

Texas has no pre-approval step before funding, which makes it one of the lighter states to set up in. Both options are one-time. We never take a cut of your tuition.

Launch Kit · $950. Your Texas playbook: every step in the right order, the document each one needs, and the operator tools (roster, attendance, tuition billing, evidence vault). You do the filing.

Get the Launch Kit · $950

Concierge · $1,995. Everything in the Launch Kit, plus we do the ESA-vendor registration with you in a working session, inside Texas’s own platform.

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Secure checkout via Stripe. We email you within one business day to confirm your state and school. Guidance, not legal advice.

Or start free: the Texas checklist

Free: the Texas microschool starter checklist

Where to begin, what your state requires, and how funding works. No fluff.

Questions founders ask

Do you take a cut of my scholarship money?

No — flat subscription, never a per-student cut.

Do I have to use a specific curriculum?

No. MicroschoolLaunchKit is the compliance and operations layer — use whatever curriculum or model you want. We handle the paperwork around it, not the teaching.

What exactly is ESA / voucher approval?

Many states let families use public scholarship funds for private-school tuition. Getting approved as a provider/vendor is how that money reaches your school. We walk you through it, state by state.

Do you take a cut of my tuition?

Never. It is a flat subscription. Your tuition is 100% yours — unlike franchise networks that take a fee for every student.

Is this legal advice?

No. We give plain-language guidance and sourced requirements, not legal advice. For legal-sensitive decisions we point you to an education attorney.

Official sources (verify current requirements): educationfreedom.texas.gov · educationfreedom.texas.gov

How to get funded in Texas