For years, families in Dallas-Fort Worth who wanted a private school education for their kids faced a straightforward problem: public schools were free and private schools were not.
That changed in 2025 when the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2, creating the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program and setting aside $1 billion to fund it.
The program went live in February 2026. In the first hour alone, nearly 8,000 families submitted applications.
Before the application window closed more than 170,000 students across Texas had applied for funding that the state only had capacity to give to around 90,000 of them. The demand, by any measure, was extraordinary.
What Is the Texas Education Freedom Accounts Program?
TEFA is Texas’s first large-scale school choice program. It functions as an education savings account: if your child is accepted into the program, the state deposits funds into a secure account managed through a platform called Odyssey.
You then direct those funds toward approved educational expenses at a participating private school or other approved provider.
For the 2026-27 school year, the standard award for a student attending an accredited private school is $10,474. That figure represents 85% of the statewide average amount of state and local funding per public school student, as calculated by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Students with a qualifying disability who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) on file with TEA may receive up to $30,000 per year. Families choosing to homeschool receive up to $2,000.
The funds do not all arrive at once. For families accepted into the program, payments are distributed quarterly: at least 25% becomes available on July 1, 2026, at least 50% on October 1, 2026, and the remainder on April 1, 2027. Unused funds at the end of the year roll over as long as the child stays enrolled in the program.
Who Is Eligible to Apply?
TEFA has universal eligibility, which means every K-12 student in Texas can apply. Your child must be a US citizen or lawfully present in the United States and eligible to attend a Texas public school. There are no income requirements to apply.
That said, when applications exceed available funding (which they did this year), a lottery system kicks in.
The lottery is not random across the board. State law requires the program to fund applicants in the following priority order:
- Students with a disability whose household income is at or below 500% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). For a family of four, 500% FPL is roughly $165,000 per year.
- Students from households at or below 200% of FPL (roughly $66,000 for a family of four).
- Students from households between 201% and 500% of FPL.
- All other applicants, depending on available funding. Within this group, students moving from a public school are prioritized over students already enrolled in a private school.
Siblings of students already in the program receive priority once the program is past its first year. One important clarification, getting accepted into TEFA does not guarantee admission to any specific private school.
TEFA and school admissions are completely separate processes.
What Can TEFA Funds Be Spent On?
TEFA funds are flexible. Approved expenses include:
- Tuition and required fees at an accredited, participating private school
- Tutoring services
- Online education programs
- Therapies and specialized services for students with disabilities
- Textbooks and instructional materials
- Transportation to and from approved education providers
- Computer hardware and software for educational use
- School uniforms and lunches at participating schools
- Career and technical education programs and courses
That last item matters for families interested in specialized programs. CTE-focused schools, including aviation programs, are explicitly covered under the approved expense categories.
What Happened with the 2026-27 Applications?
When applications opened on February 4, 2026, more than 25,000 families applied in the first few hours. By the time the March 17 deadline passed, more than 170,000 students had submitted applications for a program with roughly 90,000 available spots.
The state is now running the lottery within each priority tier. Families will receive notifications beginning in early April 2026. From there, the timeline works as follows:
- Early April 2026: Funding notifications sent to accepted families
- June 1, 2026: Deadline for parents to confirm enrollment at a participating private school
- July 15, 2026: Final deadline for students who need more time to select a school
- July 1, 2026: First 25% of approved funds available in family accounts
If your family applied and was not selected in the lottery, the state is required by law to maintain a waitlist.
That waitlist is reported to the legislature to inform future funding decisions. The expectation from program administrators is that TEFA will grow in subsequent years, so applying now and landing on the waitlist still matters.
How Rising Aviation High School Fits In
Rising Aviation High School is a TEFA-participating school. Families accepted into the program can use their $10,474 in TEFA funds to apply toward tuition at RAHS.
To put that number in context: tuition at RAHS for the 2026-27 school year is $1,195 per month over a 10-month academic year, which comes to $11,950. TEFA funding of $10,474 covers nearly 88% of that. For families in the program, the net out-of-pocket cost for a full year of private, aviation-focused education at a school located on an active airport comes to approximately $1,476.
RAHS is also an accredited institution. The school holds accreditation through TEPSAC and MSA-CESS, meeting the requirements for private schools to participate in TEFA.
The school has been in continuous operation for more than two years, satisfying another program requirement.
One thing worth noting, TEFA acceptance and RAHS admission are separate.
Being selected for TEFA funding does not mean you have a seat at Rising Aviation. Families need to complete the RAHS admissions process independently.
If you are considering applying for the 2026-27 school year, the admissions team encourages you to begin that process now so your family has a confirmed school placement ready when TEFA notifications arrive in April.
What If You Did Not Get TEFA Funding?
With demand running roughly twice the available supply this year, a significant number of families who applied will not receive TEFA funds for 2026-27. If your family is in that situation, there are a few things to know.
First, being on the waitlist is not meaningless. The state reports waitlist numbers directly to the legislature, and those numbers are the primary argument for expanded funding in future years.
The more families who apply and are waitlisted, the stronger the case for a larger program in 2027-28.
Second, Rising Aviation is working to make sure that families who missed out on TEFA this year still have options.
The school is developing need-based scholarships for the 2026-27 school year specifically for families who applied for TEFA but did not receive funding.
Details on those scholarships are coming soon. If you are interested, reach out to the admissions team and ask to be notified when scholarship applications open.
Third, TEFA applications for the 2027-28 school year will open again next year.
The program is designed to grow. Families who apply early, understand the priority tiers, and have their documentation ready are better positioned when the next window opens.
What to Do Right Now
If you applied for TEFA and are waiting to hear back, watch for an email from Odyssey starting in early April. Make sure the email address you used when applying is one you check regularly.
If you are interested in Rising Aviation High School specifically, do not wait for your TEFA notification to start the admissions process. Tour the campus, speak with the admissions team, and understand whether RAHS is the right fit for your student before funding becomes a factor. The admissions process is straightforward and does not require a TEFA award.
If you missed this year’s TEFA window entirely, sign up for updates at educationfreedom.texas.gov. The program will run another application cycle for 2027-28, and early preparation gives your family a real advantage.
And if you have questions about how TEFA applies to Rising Aviation specifically, the admissions team is available to walk through the numbers with you. Reach out through the contact page or call the school directly at (469) 206-3048.
Common Questions from DFW Families
Does TEFA cover aviation training and flight school costs?
TEFA funds can be applied to tuition at an accredited participating private school, which covers the core academic and CTE program at RAHS. Flight training through a partner flight school is a separate cost billed independently from school tuition.
TEFA does not currently cover third-party flight training fees directly, though this is worth clarifying with program administrators as TEFA guidance continues to develop.
Can my child apply for TEFA if they are already enrolled in a private school?
Yes. Students already enrolled in private school are eligible to apply.
However, in the fourth priority tier, students who were enrolled in a Texas public school for at least 90% of the 2025-26 school year are prioritized over students already in private school. This affects lottery odds but not basic eligibility.
Is TEFA the same thing as a school voucher?
Functionally, yes, though the state uses the term education savings account rather than voucher.
The practical difference is that vouchers typically pay a school directly, while ESA funds go into an account that parents control and direct toward approved expenses. TEFA uses the ESA model, with Odyssey managing the account platform.
What happens if my family moves out of Texas after receiving TEFA funding?
Your child must remain eligible to attend a Texas public school to continue receiving TEFA funds. If you move out of state, your child’s eligibility for the program ends.
Check with the TEFA program administrators at educationfreedom.texas.gov for specific guidance on your situation.
Editorial note: TEFA program details are set by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Texas Education Agency and are subject to change. Always verify current program requirements at educationfreedom.texas.gov before making enrollment decisions.
