On the TEFA waitlist: what happened in 2026-27 and what to expect for 2027-28

Short answer, as of October 8, 2026: the 2026-27 TEFA waitlist still holds more than 100,000 children. Money moved down the list in rounds through the summer as awarded families opted out, and about 47,000 children came off the waitlist. Odyssey's waitlist FAQ says the August 8 round used the remaining budget, and any award confirmed after September 15, 2026 is prorated. The waitlist does not roll into next year. If you are still waiting, the practical path is the 2027-28 window, and this page explains where you stand in it.

The waitlist by the numbers (Comptroller releases)

Why did the waitlist shrink while funded accounts grew? The June 10 release noted that about 2,000 awarded families had already opted out; each opt-out freed an award for the next child in order. The Comptroller's August budget request puts the current waitlist at exactly 106,127.

How the rounds worked

1. Awards followed the priority order: Tier 1 first, then Tier 2 by lottery, then Tier 3. The official home page notes a round of over 4,500 Tier 3 awards.
2. A child awarded from the waitlist had four weeks from the award date to confirm and select a school (Comptroller, June 30).
3. Confirmation by September 15, 2026 secured a full-year award. Odyssey's FAQ says later awards are prorated, meaning the account receives less than the full $10,474 because part of the school year has passed.
4. There is no set number of remaining rounds. Further awards depend on families leaving the program.

If you receive a late award, ask the school whether it will accept a prorated account against a full year's tuition. Our school profiles note each school's answer when the office confirms it, and the net-cost calculator lets you enter a partial award.

Why the waitlist was so long

More than 274,000 children applied for a fund of $1 billion. The Comptroller's April overview counted nearly 30,000 in Tier 1 and 79,000 in Tier 2 alone. On August 3 the Comptroller reported that nearly one in four participants has a documented disability and about four in five are below 200% of the poverty level. Tier 3 and Tier 4 families, the majority of the waitlist, were funded only as far as opt-outs allowed. See the income limits page for the tiers.

The waitlist does not carry over

This is the point most families miss. In the rules preamble the Comptroller declined to keep waitlisted children on the list into the next year. A waitlisted child is a new applicant for 2027-28 and must take part in the next application period; the same preamble says that "a waitlisted child may update or supplement their existing application, rather than beginning the process anew" (34 TAC §16.403(g), adopted rules, read October 8, 2026). The official site's answer is the 2027-28 interest list, which sends updates when the window is announced; the Comptroller's budget request says over 44,000 children were already on it in August.

Where a waitlisted child stands in 2027-28

After year one, the state sorts applications into three groups before the income tiers apply:

1. Siblings of participating children
2. New eligible program applicants — this is where a 2026-27 waitlisted child lands
3. Prior participants who left for a public or charter school

Inside group 2 the tiers repeat: disability plus income, then 200%, then 200–500%, then 500% and above. So a waitlisted Tier 3 family competes with all other new Tier 3 families, behind every sibling of a current participant. The siblings page explains the sibling rule and what it means for the size of the pool.

Two things are still unknown: the date of the window (the Comptroller's site gives no date as of October 8, 2026; see the deadline page) and the size of the fund, which the Legislature sets in spring 2027. The Comptroller's August 2026 budget request states what it would cost to fund the 106,127 children on the current waitlist ($980 million), but Community Impact reported on September 8, 2026 that the base request "would not fully cover the waitlist and interest list". It is a request, not a decision.

What to do while you wait

• Join the official interest list, and check the deadline tracker for the 2027-28 dates.
• Keep your 2025 tax return, residency proof and, if relevant, your child's IEP current.
• Watch seats. The Houston hub and the statewide catalog show a school's open 2027-28 places once the school confirms them, with the date.
• Check the Odyssey parent portal linked from the official site for any change to your 2026-27 status; we cannot see it and never ask for your login.

How we verify: figures are quoted from the Comptroller's releases and Odyssey's public waitlist FAQ, checked October 8, 2026. Participation status comes only from the official list. This site is independent and is not affiliated with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts or Odyssey. See our methodology and what changed.