Overview
- The Texas Comptroller reports 163,362 applications were filed from Feb. 4 to March 8 for a program expected to fund about 100,000 students.
- Preliminary data show the vast majority of applicants already attend private schools, with additional interest from homeschoolers, and only about 36,000 reported public school enrollment last year.
- Applications cluster in major metro areas, with Houston’s Region Four accounting for nearly 40,000—by far the most in the state.
- Early grades lead demand, including nearly 21,000 pre-K applications and heavy interest in kindergarten and elementary cohorts.
- A federal lawsuit filed March 1 alleges Islamic schools are being excluded from approval under TEFA, citing an attorney general opinion and noting no accredited Islamic schools have been approved to date.