Homeschool funding & ESAs in Texas

Can I get paid to homeschool in Texas?

Not as a salary. What Texas offers is an education savings account: the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) puts about $2,000 per student per year into an account you spend on expenses the program approves, rather than paying you to teach. An ESA comes with conditions — what the money may be spent on, what has to be reported, and in some states whether the child is still counted as a homeschooler. The program details below set those out. Romeschool tracks and organizes what you spend, so a receipt is ready the moment a program asks for one — it never files or submits anything on your behalf. Texas's homeschool rules require no test or evaluation of their own, so there is nothing on that side to arrange.

Texas ESA program

What does Texas require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

Texas does not require a test or an evaluation, so there is no assessment to arrange. What Texas asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

No. Texas does not require homeschooling families to file a notice. No notice, registration, or approval (home schools are private schools). Since September 1, 2025, Tex. Educ. Code § 1.010 — added by HB 2674 (2025), often called the Homeschool Freedom Act — has barred the Texas Education Agency, the State Board of Education and every other institution the Education Code reaches under § 1.001(a), which takes in school districts, from adopting a rule or policy that regulates a home school's educational program. It does not touch compulsory attendance (§ 25.085) or the good-citizenship subject, and TEA's guidance still says a district that becomes aware a child may be home schooled may ask the parents in writing for a letter of assurance that the child is being home schooled — a district's request, not a state filing, and nothing is approved or registered.

Testing or evaluation

No. Texas does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. No mandatory testing.

Days and hours

None. Texas does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. No attendance record requirement.

Records

Texas does not require homeschooling families to keep specific records. No record-keeping obligation under state law.

Full Texas homeschool requirements →

Common questions about homeschool funding in Texas

Does Texas have an education savings account (ESA) for homeschoolers?

Yes. Texas offers the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) (about $2,000 per student per year), which independent homeschooling families can use for approved education expenses. Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) are live and homeschool-usable: the Comptroller awarded accounts for 2026-27 and funded them on July 1, 2026. A participating child who is home-schooled is capped at $2,000 for the school year (Tex. Educ. Code § 29.361(b-1)), paid in a single transfer and spent through the program marketplace on approved expenses. Any child eligible to enroll in a Texas public school or its prekindergarten may apply (§ 29.355), but awards are limited by funding and granted in the order § 29.356(b) sets — siblings of participating children first, then by disability and household income — so an application is not an award. The 2026-27 application window ran February 4 – March 31, 2026 and is closed; the Comptroller has not published the next one. Texas program law still calls a participating child home-schooled (§ 29.361(b-1)), and the annual norm-referenced test in § 29.358(b)(2)(B) is a condition a private school meets to be approved, not a duty the program puts on a homeschooling parent. Verify current eligibility and approved-expense rules.

How much is Texas's homeschool ESA worth?

Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) provides approximately $2,000 per eligible student per year. Awards and eligibility change from year to year — confirm the current amount with the program before you rely on it.

Nationwide grants

• ACT Today! Grant · Autism Care Today
  For U.S. families of a child with an autism diagnosis (priority to household income under $100k).
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific, but useful for therapy costs.
• Dyslexia Services Foundation Grant · Dyslexia Services Foundation
  For low-income U.S. children with dyslexia who cannot otherwise afford treatment (need shown via free/reduced lunch, Medicaid, or SNAP).
  Typically identified through a teacher or provider; not homeschool-specific.
• HSLDA Compassion Curriculum Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For HSLDA members with significant financial need (legal custody of a child 6-19, homeschooling 3+ months).
  You must privately fund your homeschool (not receiving ESA or other public funds).
• HSLDA Disaster Relief Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For homeschooling families (child 6-19) with physical disaster damage in the past 18 months.
• MyGOAL Autism Grant · MyGOAL Inc.
  For the primary caregiver of a child under 18 with autism, with demonstrated financial need.
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific.
• Our Military Kids Grant · Our Military Kids
  For children (1-18) of deployed National Guard/Reserve members (60+ days) or of post-9/11 combat-injured service members and veterans.
  Funds organized, provider-led activities (not parent-taught core instruction).
• UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Grant · UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation
  For U.S. children aged 16 or under with commercial (non-public) health insurance, subject to income guidelines.
  Medical (not education) funding — useful for special-needs homeschoolers' therapy costs.

Full details, amounts and deadlines for every program →