This article is intended to help Texas families who have a child with a disability without an individualized education program (IEP) on file with the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
For the purpose of determining your child’s priority for admission to the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) Program, you may upload a TEFA Disability Certification form completed by your child’s practitioner if you do not have an IEP filed with TEA, an out-of-state IEP, or a full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE). This form is specifically designed for the TEFA Program. The template form is now available for download here.
Important Information:
For prioritization purposes, the term “children with a disability” includes:
- Children with an IEP on file with TEA at the time the application process closes;
- Children who have submitted a TEFA Disability Certification form with their application;
- Children with a full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE); or
- Children with an IEP from out-of-state.
However, only those children with a current IEP on file with TEA who are accepted into the program are eligible for the increased funding amount available to children with a disability. In order to receive additional funding, the student must have or have had an IEP on file with the Texas Education Agency for either the 2023-2024 school year, 2024-2025 school year, 2026-2027 school year or for the upcoming school year.
Children who only provide the TEFA Disability Certification form will only be eligible for inclusion in the first priority group for children with a disability who are members of a household with income at or below 500% of the federal poverty level.