Federal Judge Extends Texas School Voucher Deadline

The Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program now has a new March 31 application deadline.

Mar. 18, 2026 at 12:06am

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A federal judge has extended the deadline for applications to the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, the state's new school voucher initiative. The original March 17 deadline has been pushed back to March 31, giving families more time to apply for the $1 billion program that aims to prioritize students with disabilities from lower- and middle-income families.

Why it matters

The TEFA program has drawn criticism from teachers' unions who argue it will hurt public schools, while supporters say it may expand to reach more students in future years. The extension comes amid a lawsuit from Muslim parents and Islamic schools who claim the state is discriminating against them in the program.

The details

The federal judge's order extends the TEFA application deadline by two weeks, from March 17 to March 31. Nearly 230,000 applications have already been submitted as of last Tuesday. The program will provide $10,474 per student, with up to $30,000 for students with disabilities and an individualized education program (IEP) on file. However, some families are concerned they won't meet the IEP requirement in time.

  • The original TEFA application deadline was March 17 at 11:59 p.m.
  • The new extended deadline is March 31 at 11:59 p.m.

The players

Kelly Hancock

Acting Comptroller of Texas, who requested the Texas Attorney General's opinion on whether schools with links to "foreign terrorist organizations" or "adversarial foreign governments" should be barred from the TEFA program.

Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General, who was asked by the Comptroller to provide an opinion on which schools should be allowed to participate in the TEFA program.

Laura Steinbach

Head of school at Rawson Saunders, a private school in Austin serving students with dyslexia, who says the TEFA program will make it easier for families to access specialized instruction.

Linda Litzinger

Director of advocacy and leadership for Texas Parent to Parent, an organization that offers support to families of children with disabilities, who says some families may not meet the IEP requirement in time.

Zeph Capo

President of Texas AFT, a teachers' union, who has suggested the TEFA program will ultimately hurt public schools.

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What they’re saying

“This two-week extension will give families an additional opportunity to apply for the first year of school choice in Texas. We look forward to building on the record-setting demand for educational options that we have seen over the first six weeks.”

— Kelly Hancock, Acting Comptroller of Texas (cbsaustin.com)

“Every one of the students who is at Rawson Saunders was not experiencing success wherever they were before. Our commitment to them is to help them experience success as learners.”

— Laura Steinbach, Head of school at Rawson Saunders (cbsaustin.com)

“There are 41 school days between when this option was given to families and today, when it has to be turned in. But it takes 45 school days to get a new IEP. So, some families are applying that won't have met that IEP deadline, and they will only get the $10,000 tuition.”

— Linda Litzinger, Director of advocacy and leadership for Texas Parent to Parent (cbsaustin.com)

“When you look at the bottom line of this, this is coming back to privatizing our public school system, period.”

— Zeph Capo, President of Texas AFT (cbsaustin.com)

What’s next

The judge's order extends the TEFA application deadline to March 31, giving families more time to apply for the program.

The takeaway

The TEFA school voucher program has drawn both praise and criticism, with supporters seeing it as expanding educational options and critics arguing it will harm public schools. The extended deadline aims to give more families the chance to apply, though some may still struggle to meet the IEP requirement in time.