The new Texas school voucher program has received applications for more than 160,000 students, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock said. Tuesday, March 17, was the deadline for families to apply, but it was extended to March 31 by a court order.

“Demand is strong for the record-setting launch of school choice in Texas,” Hancock said. The program is being administered by the comptroller’s office and Odyssey, a tech contractor based in New York.

The Texas Education Freedom Account program was created last year by Senate Bill 2. It allows eligible families to establish a trust-style account funded by the state and request payments for a wide range of education-related costs.

They include private school tuition and fees, online education programs, textbooks, academic assessments, tutoring, transportation to educational providers, industry-based credential programs and certain educational therapies not covered by Medicaid or private insurance.

More than 2,200 schools have signed up to participate. Families did not need to select a school when they apply, and more schools will join the program on a rolling basis.

Funding for the program comes from a dedicated account within the state’s general revenue fund. Lawmakers capped total program spending for the 2026–27 biennium at $1 billion, enough to serve up to 90,000 students statewide.

The standard award is approximately $10,000 per student, while students with disabilities may receive up to $30,000.

No more than 20% of the funding may go to students from households earning more than 500% of the federal poverty level, roughly $160,000 for a family of four. According to preliminary figures, 29% of applications as of March 8 were at that level.

The largest number of applications — 36% — were from families earning two to five times the poverty level and families below 200% of the poverty level made up 35% of applications.

The comptroller’s office said 79% of applicants planned to be in private schools for the next school year and more than 20,000 applications were for pre-kindergarten pupils and more than 15,000 for kindergarteners. Eleven percent of all applications were for students with disabilities, the report showed.

The Houston education service center region had by far the largest number of applications, more than 38,000, with Region 10 in the Dallas area second with more than 28,000.

If applications exceed available funding, the state will use a lottery system. Certain students are prioritized by law, with students with disabilities placed at the top of the list.

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