Overview
- Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that more than 53,000 low‑income students won Tier 2 awards, bringing total Education Freedom Account notices to nearly 100,000.
- The $1 billion program drew 274,183 applications, so the state used a random lottery to allocate awards worth about $10,000 per student and about $30,000 for students with disabilities.
- Awarded families must choose by July 15 to enroll in a private school, select a $2,000 homeschool option, or opt out, and waitlisted students may move up as appeals and opt‑outs free funds.
- Program rules prioritized 42,644 students with disabilities and their siblings in the first rollout, before Tier 2 opened to households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
- Comptroller data show many Tier 2 applicants were already in private school or homeschooled, while Houston and Dallas area districts recorded the most Tier 2 awards.