Texas parents flooded a school choice program, far exceeding the initial 90,000 spots available.
Applications for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) exceeded 200,000 students before Tuesday’s deadline, according to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
The program is set to serve between 90,000 and 100,000 students. There have been over 240,000 applications submitted thus far, an official from Gov. Greg Abbott‘s office confirmed.
“The demand for a school choice is overwhelming in Texas. More than 241,000 students have applied for the first year of the school choice program and the legislature has initially funded the program at $1 billion – meaning roughly 90,000 kids will be able to participate in the first year,” American Federation for Children CEO Tommy Schultz told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
The American Federation for Children Growth Fund — a school choice group — spent nearly $2 million overall on enrollment marketing efforts in Texas to make families aware of the TEFA.
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Schultz went on to say, “This gives Gov. Greg Abbott and the legislature a massive victory on a signature policy achievement, while also giving them the hard data that this program should be massively expanded.”
TEFA is a state-created education savings account program, backed by an initial $1 billion investment. The legislation introduced new competition into the education landscape, giving parents options outside the neighborhood school their child is zoned for — posing challenges for districts struggling to retain students.
Over 42,000 applications were submitted on the first day the portal opened, which Eduardo Leal, a spokesperson for Abbott’s office, said in February made it “the largest day one school choice program in the nation.”
“At the same time, the oversubscribed program is a crushing defeat for the radical unions who said Texans do not want school choice. The reign of dominance by the unions over our kids’ K-12 education will be coming to an end soon,” Schultz told Fox News Digital.
Abbott signed the Texas Education Freedom Act in May 2025. The journey leading to signing the legislation was turbulent for Abbott and state Republicans as he struggled to unify members of his party on his school choice agenda.
The historic rollout of the program comes as major city school districts have been struggling to retain students since the coronavirus pandemic. Among them is Houston Independent School District (HISD), which followed through on a plan to close 12 of its schools by a unanimous vote, citing declining enrollment.
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HISD Superintendent Mike Miles spoke with Fox News Digital in January about its enrollment decline, citing nationwide enrollment trends, and efforts to appeal to parents as competition with charter schools ramps up.
On Feb. 12, the district announced that the plan to close the schools “is taking necessary steps to ensure the long-term strength, sustainability, and quality of education for all students.”
