TEFA Renewal Process: How to Keep Your Texas Education Freedom Account

Getting a TEFA account is one thing. Keeping it year after year is another. The program is designed for continuous participation, but you have to complete renewal steps during the spring window — and missing them puts you back into the priority lottery.

How Annual Renewal Works

Active participants in good standing do not re-enter the priority lottery. Instead, they complete a spring renewal process through the Odyssey portal:

1. Submit an Intent to Continue — An electronic declaration confirming you want to participate in the following school year
2. Update residency documentation — Current Texas residency proof (utility bill, lease, mortgage statement dated within 60 days)
3. Update income verification — Your most recent IRS Form 1040 showing federal AGI, used to re-verify eligibility and update priority tiering
4. Confirm educational setting — Whether your child will attend an accredited private school or continue as a homeschool student
5. Submit test scores — For students in grades 3–12, upload the current year's assessment results

Participants who complete all steps remain enrolled without re-entering the lottery. This is one of the program's strongest retention features — once you're in, staying in is straightforward.

What Happens if You Miss Renewal

Failure to submit the required assessment results disqualifies a student from renewal. Follow current portal instructions for any next-cycle application.

New applicants face the priority lottery, and under Year 2+ rules, returning students who previously participated and then left are placed in the lowest priority category (Priority 3). This is worse positioning than a first-time applicant.

The takeaway: treat the renewal window as a hard deadline, not something you'll get to eventually.

Sibling Priority in Year 2 and Beyond

Starting in the second program year (2027–28), siblings of active participants receive automatic Priority 1 status — the highest tier. If your older child has an active TEFA account, a younger sibling applying for the first time moves to the front of the line regardless of income.

This applies at any income level and doesn't require meeting the disability or low-income criteria that drive Tier 1 and Tier 2 priority in the inaugural year.

Exiting and Re-Entering

If you voluntarily exit TEFA mid-year — by submitting an account cancellation through the Odyssey portal — remaining funds revert to the state. Your child can immediately return to standard Leeper homeschooling or enroll in a public school.

The catch: if you later change your mind and want to re-enter TEFA, you apply as a new applicant under Priority 3 (returning public students category). You do not get your old priority tier back.

This makes the exit decision significant. If you're on the fence about continuing, completing renewal to hold your spot while you decide is usually the better strategy. You can always cancel after renewal if you choose not to spend the funds.

Unused Balance Rollover

Good news for families who don't spend their full allocation: unused TEFA balances automatically roll over to the next academic year as long as the child maintains active eligibility. There is no "use it or lose it" pressure within a single year.

This rollover is uncapped — balances accumulate across years of participation. It applies to both homeschool ($2,000/year) and private school ($10,474/year) accounts.

The Texas Education Freedom Accounts Parent Guide covers the full renewal timeline, documentation requirements, and strategies for maintaining your account through the early program years.

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