Dyslexia Schools That Accept Texas ESA: 18 Verified [2026–27]

By The School Choice Index Last verified: August 4, 2026 · State participating-school data: report run August 2, 2026

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Dyslexia schools that accept Texas ESA are not collected in one official dyslexia-only directory. We checked the state’s August 2 participating-school file against current school-owned information and verified 18 full-time Texas schools that explicitly say they serve dyslexia or a named language-based learning difference.

Many of the best-known names are there: Shelton, Rawson-Saunders, Briarwood, Fairhill, The Key School, and The Winston School San Antonio. You’ll find the full list below, along with state-file grades, current school-site conflicts, published tuition, and the real gap a family would still owe after the standard award.

But here’s the part almost nobody tells you up front.

The standard 2026–27 private-school award is $10,474. The “up to $30,000” amount only applies when a child has a qualifying Texas IEP on file with the state. The actual amount depends on the child’s district of residence and the instructional arrangement or setting code on that IEP. Most qualifying students receive less than the $30,000 ceiling.^[1]

A Section 504 plan does not unlock the enhanced amount. A private evaluation does not unlock it by itself. And even a child who has accepted disability documentation only reaches Tier 1 priority when the household income is at or below 500% of the federal poverty level.^[2]

That’s not a paperwork technicality. It can change the family’s available funding by thousands of dollars.

We’ll show you the schools first. Then we’ll show you what each document actually does, what the schools cost, what participation does not guarantee, and what you can still do if your child does not have the IEP the funding formula requires.

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The 30-second version

What does your documentation actually establish?

The distinction is simple:

Priority decides where a child stands in the funding lottery. The IEP funding formula decides how much an awarded private-school student may receive.

Those are two separate gates.

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Which dyslexia schools accept Texas ESA in 2026–27?

Eighteen full-time Texas schools met both of our verification rules: an exact-name match in the state’s August 2 participating-school workbook and current school-owned language saying the school serves dyslexia or a named language-based learning profile. Being on this list means the program can send approved payments to the school. It does not mean the school has a seat, will admit a particular child, will follow a public-school IEP, or will cost no more than the award.

First, a word on how we built this, because it matters.

The state runs an official school finder. It’s genuinely useful. You can filter schools by location, grade level, and format.

What you cannot do is filter full-time schools by dyslexia.

The finder offers dyslexia or dysgraphia specialty filters for tutoring and therapy providers, but not for participating schools. So a parent looking for a full-time dyslexia school still has to open school websites one by one.

We downloaded the state’s participating-school workbook, counted its 2,785 school and campus records, searched the records against schools whose own current sites identify dyslexia or a language-based learning profile, and pulled current tuition where a school published it.

Then we did the subtraction.

Program-stated versus independently verified

The verified list

The grade column below comes from the state workbook. When a current school site gives a different range, the conflict is shown. The final column is the workbook’s submitted_at date—not an approval date or a promise that services began on that date.

Source: Texas Education Freedom Accounts participating-school workbook, report run August 2, 2026.^[3]

Records we did not put in the verified list

A school appearing in the state workbook was not enough by itself. We also required current school-owned evidence that the full-time program explicitly serves dyslexia or a named language-based learning profile.

We withheld four records:

• The Jane Justin School: its current school materials describe a broad developmental- and learning-disability program but do not establish a dyslexia-specific or language-based program.
• Notre Dame School of Dallas: its current materials describe a developmental-disabilities and functional-academics program, not a dyslexia-school program.
• Odyssey School: an exact Austin workbook record exists, but we could not verify it against a current first-party Austin school site.
• The Novus Academy: the state record and the school’s current location information did not reconcile cleanly.

That does not mean those schools cannot serve a child with dyslexia. It means they did not pass the stricter public-evidence standard used for this page.

We’d rather leave a possible school off than call it verified without the evidence we promised you.

What the achievement-battery column actually tells you

This is one of the most useful fields in the state file, but it needs to be read correctly.

The workbook asks schools to identify certain special-needs achievement batteries they administer. We counted five named batteries:

• Brigance
• Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, or KTEA
• Woodcock-Johnson
• Peabody Individual Achievement Test, or PIAT
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II, or WIAT-II

Across all 2,785 participating school/campus records:

• 2,675 reported none of those five named batteries
• 80 reported exactly one
• 18 reported exactly two
• 9 reported exactly three
• 2 reported exactly four
• 1 reported all five

That means 110 records reported at least one named battery, and exactly one reported all five: The Briarwood School in Houston.

Now, be careful with this.

It is a self-reported workbook field. It is not a school-quality score. It does not tell us:

• which students receive the test,
• whether every dyslexic student receives it,
• how often it is administered,
• whether it is used for admission, placement, or progress monitoring,
• or whether parents receive the underlying scores.

A school reporting no named battery may still provide strong instruction and use a different assessment. Rawson-Saunders selected “Other,” and its full-time program is built specifically for students with dyslexia.

So this is not a ranking.

But it gives you a much better admissions question:

“Your school reported the Woodcock-Johnson to the state. Which students receive it, when is it administered, what decisions do you make from the results, and will I receive the scores?”

That is a very different conversation from “Do you help kids with dyslexia?”

Ready to narrow the list? Jump to the child-fit guide and compare grade, metro, school model, learning profile, and budget.

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The one hard thing we have to tell you

Texas’s published participation standards do not require a private school to prove that it operates a dyslexia-specific program or employs a particular dyslexia credential. A participating private school must meet the program’s accreditation, operating-history, assessment, and Texas-location requirements. Those requirements establish program eligibility—not instructional fit for your child.^[4]

That distinction matters.

Only one record in the entire August 2 file has “dyslexia” in the school name. And 2,675 of the 2,785 records reported none of the five individual achievement batteries we counted.

A school can be accredited, approved to receive program payments, and completely wrong for a dyslexic third-grader.

If what you need is a legally enforceable IEP—with specific services, measurable goals, procedural safeguards, and a dispute process when the school does not deliver—then a parent-selected TEFA private school does not provide the same legal structure as a public district or charter school.

A public-school IEP does not guarantee an outcome. But it creates enforceable duties and procedural rights that a parentally selected private school does not assume merely because it accepts TEFA payments.^[5]

But here’s the flip side, and it is why 85,344 student accounts had been funded by the state’s July 29 snapshot.^[6]

The state does not choose the school for you. A district committee does not have to approve your parent-selected TEFA placement. If you find a participating school that admits your child, fits your child, and works financially, the program lets you direct approved account funds toward that choice.

That freedom cuts both directions.

The state does not make the fit decision for you, which means the responsibility to verify fit stays with you.

That is why this page separates four things that other lists blur together:

1. The school is in the state data.
2. The school publicly says it serves dyslexia.
3. The school may fit your child’s actual profile.
4. The financial contract may fit your family.

The other private-school route families should know exists

A district-funded nonpublic placement is completely different from a parent-selected TEFA placement.

When an ARD committee determines that a nonpublic program is necessary for the district to provide a free appropriate public education, the district remains legally responsible for the child’s special-education program and the placement retains IDEA protections. The parent cannot create that obligation simply by choosing a private school, but families dealing with an inadequate public placement deserve to know the route exists.^[7]

If enforceable services are the deciding issue, read the IEP-rights section before you compare tuition.

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Does dyslexia qualify my child for the $30,000?

A dyslexia diagnosis by itself does not produce a $30,000 award. For 2026–27, enhanced private-school funding required a qualifying Texas IEP on file with the state by the end of the application period. The child’s district and instructional arrangement or setting code determine the amount, and the total award is capped at $30,000.^[1]

The official program says most qualifying students receive less than the maximum.

So if you walked in expecting thirty thousand dollars because your child is dyslexic, you were not unreasonable. “Up to $30,000” is the number most people remember.

But “up to” is doing a lot of work.

What counts for priority, and what counts for money

Five points are easy to miss:

1. Disability status does not automatically mean Tier 1. The household income must also be at or below 500% FPL.
2. Priority is not an award guarantee. When applications exceed available funding, placement is decided through the statutory tiers and lottery.
3. Priority is not enhanced funding. A child may prove a qualifying disability for priority and still receive the standard private-school amount.
4. The $30,000 figure is a cap. It is not a standard disability amount.
5. The money is placed into a restricted education account. It is not a cash payment to the family.

Not sure why your amount is $10,474? Use the documentation table above, then compare it with the IEP information shown in your official award notice.

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Why do some Texas students with dyslexia have a 504 plan but no IEP?

Texas’s treatment of dyslexia changed sharply after House Bill 3928. TEA says the law required suspected dyslexia to be evaluated as a possible specific learning disability through the special-education framework, which led to far more students being served in special education with dyslexia identified as an SLD.^[8]

That does not mean every child with dyslexia automatically qualifies for an IEP.

An evaluation team must still determine that the child has an eligible disability and needs special education. The ARD committee then determines eligibility and develops the IEP when appropriate.

But the change is visible in the state’s own numbers.

How big was the shift? We ran the numbers.

Source: Texas Education Agency Annual Report 2025. Share column is our calculation.^[8]

Two things jump out.

First: dyslexia went from about one in six to nearly three in five.

In 2018–19, students served with dyslexia represented 16.4% of Texas students served under the specific-learning-disability category. By 2024–25, the share was 58%.

Second: dyslexia accounts for nearly all the recent growth in the category.

Between 2022–23 and 2024–25:

• Dyslexia-SLD service grew by 106,177 students
• Total SLD service grew by 108,445 students

Divide one by the other:

106,177 ÷ 108,445 = 97.9%

In other words, dyslexia accounted for 97.9% of the two-year increase in the number of Texas students served under the SLD category.

That is HB 3928 showing up in the spreadsheet.

But it still does not mean every child with a dyslexia diagnosis has an IEP. Some students remain on 504 plans, some attend private school or homeschool, some have not been evaluated through a district, and some are evaluated but do not meet both parts of IDEA eligibility.

If your child has dyslexia and no IEP, you are not the only parent who assumed that a diagnosis, a 504 plan, and a thick private report would all be treated as the same thing.

They are not.

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Does my private dyslexia evaluation count?

A private psychoeducational evaluation can matter a great deal, but it does not independently create the enhanced 2026–27 TEFA award. The district must consider outside evaluation material, but the public evaluation, ARD eligibility decision, and qualifying IEP are what create the state-file information used for enhanced funding.^[9]

We know how this lands.

You may have gone outside the system precisely because the district was not helping. You paid a licensed professional. You have a detailed report that identifies dyslexia, describes the child’s scores, and recommends services in plain English.

That report is real.

It is not worthless.

It is simply doing a different job than the qualifying IEP.

Your private evaluation can still:

• Give a specialized private school the information it needs to review fit
• Help a district identify the areas that need evaluation
• Supply outside data that the district is legally required to consider
• Reduce unnecessary duplication when the district determines existing data are usable
• Support a qualified professional’s completion of the official TEFA Disability Certification Form
• Document accommodations and instructional needs for a written private-school plan
• Support a request for an independent educational evaluation when the legal conditions are met

What it cannot do by itself is place a Texas IEP into the state system or assign the instructional code used in the enhanced-funding calculation.

Shelton warns its own families that private psychoeducational testing does not independently satisfy the program’s enhanced-award documentation requirement. That warning matters because many families at specialized schools already possess exactly that kind of report.

The practical move

When you request a district evaluation:

1. Attach the private report.
2. State that you are requesting a full individual and initial evaluation.
3. Identify the areas of suspected disability and educational need.
4. Ask the district to consider the outside report in determining what additional data are required.
5. Keep proof of the date and recipient.

A private report can make the district process better.

It cannot replace the district process when the funding rule requires the resulting Texas IEP.

Already have private testing? Copy the evaluation-request language below, attach the report, and send the request in writing.

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What will a dyslexia school actually cost after Texas ESA?

Among the verified schools with current tuition we could confirm, published tuition runs from $19,500 to $35,000 before separate fees. The standard $10,474 award covers only part of that cost at every school in the table below.

Here is the arithmetic.

Tuition checked against current school-owned pages on August 4, 2026.^[10]

This is tuition-gap math, not a complete first-year cost.

The table does not automatically include:

• Application fees
• Registration fees
• New-student fees
• Testing or screening fees
• Uniforms
• Transportation
• Meals
• Technology
• Therapy
• Tutoring
• Optional activities
• Credit-card fees
• Tuition-refund insurance
• Financial aid
• Enhanced IEP-based funding

Examples:

• Great Lakes publishes an $800 nonrefundable registration fee and a $400 first-time Brigance-testing fee for certain new students.
• Briarwood publishes separate registration fees.
• Key School requires a $2,000 nonrefundable deposit that is credited within the tuition-payment balance, plus a separate $1,500 new-student fee.
• Fairhill’s published tuition says its $3,000 enrollment deposit is included in the tuition figure.

Ask every school for a full first-year cost in writing.

The timing problem nobody warns you about

Shelton’s published schedule shows why the award amount is only half the budgeting question.

For 2026–27:

• Shelton required a $2,500 initial nonrefundable payment.
• Full tuition under its pay-in-full option was due June 5, 2026.
• Other Shelton payment plans also began in June.
• The program’s first scheduled private-school installment was July 1, 2026.^[11]

The school bill can begin before the first state installment.

That does not mean a school is doing anything wrong. Its staffing and enrollment contracts begin long before the state’s payment calendar.

But it means you need answers before signing:

1. When is the first payment due?
2. Is the deposit part of tuition or additional?
3. Which payments are nonrefundable?
4. Does the school offer a schedule aligned with TEFA installments?
5. What happens if the official award is lower than expected?
6. What happens if the child is admitted but the family cannot complete enrollment?
7. What happens if the placement fails after school starts?

How the money is scheduled to arrive

The current published program schedule for private-school students is:

• July 1, 2026: first 25%
• October 1, 2026: second 25%
• February 1, 2027: remaining 50%^[12]

State law requires the remaining transfer no later than April 1. That is the statutory outside deadline, not a second expected payment date.

The published program date is February 1.

Want the real number instead of the headline number? Subtract your official award from the school’s written first-year total—not just tuition—and ask the school to identify every amount due before the first TEFA installment.

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Which of these schools fits which child?

Participation status tells you whether approved program payments can be sent to a school. It tells you nothing about whether the school’s grades, model, admissions profile, or instructional intensity fit your child. Start with grade and drive time, then narrow by learning profile, school model, faith preference, cost, and what the school openly says it cannot serve.

This section is an editorial guide based on the verified public information. It is not a school ranking and it is not a prediction that a school will admit your child.

If your child needs a dyslexia-centered full curriculum in Austin

Rawson-Saunders is built specifically around dyslexia and currently describes itself as a full-curriculum school for dyslexic students in grades 1–8.

Capitol School of Austin serves younger students and publicly discusses language and learning differences, but it is a broader profile than a dyslexia-only school.

Read each school’s admissions profile before treating either one as interchangeable with the other.

If you are in Dallas–Fort Worth

This is the deepest verified market in the state.

• Shelton School: PreK–12 and a large learning-differences program covering dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD
• Fairhill School: grades 1–12, learning-differences model, three named achievement batteries reported
• The Key School: K–12, strong dyslexia identity, four named batteries reported
• Hill School of Fort Worth: K–12 and explicitly serves students with learning differences including dyslexia
• Great Lakes Academy: current school site says grades 4–12; lowest published tuition in our current comparison
• School of Lexia: grades 1–8 and directly focused on dyslexia and related learning differences
• Bridge Builder Academy: K–12 with a highly individualized model
• Oak Hill Academy: broader learning-differences and special-needs setting with academic-language-therapy services
• Inspire Academy: Christian K–12 learning-differences option
• St. Timothy Christian Academy: Christian K–12 option with dyslexia-oriented staff and programming

Those are not ten versions of the same school.

A large PreK–12 campus, a small dyslexia school, a one-to-one academy, and a Christian learning-differences school can all appear in the same search while delivering very different daily experiences.

If you are in Houston

The Briarwood School serves K–12 students with diagnosed learning differences including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. In the state workbook, it was the only record reporting all five named individual achievement batteries.

Dyslexia School of Houston Microschool is the most explicitly named option in the file, but its current site says the microschool serves kindergarten through second grade—not the broader PreK–8 range shown in the state record.

Bridge Preparatory Academy in Richmond is a Christian school serving grades 1–12 and publicly identifies dyslexia and related reading needs.

If you are in San Antonio

The Winston School San Antonio serves K–12 students with identified learning differences, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, executive-function deficits, and certain anxiety profiles.

Its current admissions page also identifies profiles outside its mission. Read the “who we serve” and “who we do not serve” language together.

If you are in El Paso or Midland

El Paso Bridges Academy appears in the state file for grades 1–9 and publicly serves learning differences including dyslexia.

Hillcrest School in Midland is the verified West Texas option in this list. The state file says PreK–12, while its current school materials describe K–12.

Outside those locations, a full-time specialized school may not be within a realistic daily drive.

That is geography—not a failure by the parent.

If the award is $10,474 and the school costs $32,000

Be honest about the gap before you fall in love with a campus.

Ask about:

• Need-based school aid
• Sibling or generally available discounts
• Payment schedules
• Included versus additional fees
• Transportation
• Whether a different participating school fits
• Whether a regular school plus structured literacy services would serve the child better

A school your child likes, paired with strong dyslexia instruction outside school, can be a legitimate plan.

It is not a consolation prize.

If your child is close to grade level and needs targeted remediation

You may not need a full-time specialist school.

A strong current school plus intensive, properly credentialed structured-literacy instruction may be a better use of the family’s time and account funds.

If dyslexia is only one part of a more complex profile

Read the admissions exclusions before the marketing page.

Ask directly about:

• ADHD and executive-function needs
• Dysgraphia and written expression
• Dyscalculia
• Anxiety
• Autism
• Intellectual disability
• Behavioral regulation
• Speech-language needs
• Occupational therapy
• Medical or personal-care support
• Twice-exceptional learning

A school can be excellent and still be wrong for your child.

Eighteen schools is still a lot to sort through. Start with four filters: grade, drive time, total family cost, and the school’s published non-fit criteria.

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What does “accepts Texas ESA” actually mean?

On this page, “accepts Texas ESA” means the school appeared by exact name in the state’s August 2 participating-school data. It does not mean the school must admit your child, has a current opening, will follow the public-school IEP, will cost no more than the award, or will remain in the program indefinitely.

There are four gates between “the school is on the list” and “my child starts there.”

Gate 1 — The state currently lists the school

Search:

• The exact legal or filed school name
• The correct campus
• The street address
• The current official finder—not only an old PDF or screenshot

This matters more than it sounds.

The workbook lists Inspire Academy, LLC. Searching only a shortened brand name can cause a parent to miss the record.

Gate 2 — The school admits your child

Every school controls its own admissions process.

A decision may depend on:

• Grade availability
• A current evaluation
• Reading and academic profile
• Cognitive profile
• Behavior and emotional needs
• A parent interview
• A student shadow day
• Teacher recommendations
• An admissions screening
• An actual open seat
• The family’s ability to meet the remaining cost

Program acceptance and school acceptance are separate.

Gate 3 — The school can serve the child’s real needs

“We serve dyslexia” does not tell you:

• the severity range,
• the number of direct-instruction minutes,
• the group size,
• who delivers the instruction,
• whether the child receives instruction daily,
• how progress is measured,
• what happens when progress stalls,
• or whether the school can serve the child’s co-occurring needs.

That is why the question list later in this page is more useful than a generic school description.

Gate 4 — You accept the written financial contract

Get these in writing:

• Full tuition
• Every mandatory fee
• Deposit treatment
• Refundability
• Payment dates
• Withdrawal liability
• Financial-aid treatment
• What happens if TEFA funding is delayed
• What happens if the award amount changes
• What happens if the school or child leaves the program

The state list keeps changing

The August 2 workbook contains 2,785 school/campus records.

Of those, 403 records—14.5% of the file—have a submitted_at date after the family application window closed on March 31.

That does not prove that every one of those schools was approved on its submission date. It does prove that a list searched during the application period could be materially different from the current participating-school file.

Dyslexia School of Houston is a clear example: its current state record carries a May 11 submission date.

So if you searched once in February or March and gave up, search again.

And if you are reading this after August 2026, check the official finder before relying on any static list—including ours.

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What happens to my child’s IEP and legal rights?

A participating private school is not subject to federal and state special-education service requirements in the same manner as a public district or charter school. The state can use an IEP to calculate enhanced funding without turning that IEP into an enforceable private-school service plan.^[5]

This is the sentence we most want you to slow down on:

The IEP is doing math, not making promises.

The state uses the district and instructional code on the IEP to calculate funding.

That does not automatically require the private school to deliver every goal, accommodation, service minute, related service, or placement term written in the public-school IEP.

The protections you may be used to—ARD procedures, prior written notice, measurable IEP goals, due process, state complaints, and specific IDEA duties—live in the public system.

When a parent chooses a private TEFA school, the family is trading some of those enforceable structures for greater control over school selection.

For many dyslexia families, that trade may still be worth making.

But make it with your eyes open.

Get these commitments in writing before you withdraw

• The reading method or curriculum
• Minutes per day or week of direct literacy instruction
• Whether instruction is daily
• Individual versus group delivery
• Maximum group size
• Staff training and credentials
• Which current accommodations the school will provide
• Assistive technology
• Testing accommodations
• Speech-language or occupational services
• Progress-monitoring tools
• How often parents receive results
• What changes if the child is not progressing
• Discipline practices
• Complaint or escalation process
• Refund and withdrawal terms

If a school makes a specific instructional promise during admissions, ask it to put that promise into the enrollment documents or a signed student plan.

If it will not, that is information.

When staying in public or charter school may be the stronger choice

We would rather lose you here than have you regret this in November.

Public or charter school may be the better option when:

• Enforceable IEP services are the top priority
• The family cannot absorb the tuition gap
• The child needs a related service the private school does not provide
• The child needs intensive medical, behavioral, or personal-care support
• Transportation makes attendance unrealistic
• The school will not put needed accommodations in writing
• The family is counting on an enhanced award that has not been officially determined
• The current public or charter placement is working

And one flat rule:

A charter school is a public school.

Charters are not participating private schools under this program. A student found enrolled in a public district or open-enrollment charter school is not eligible to continue receiving TEFA funding for that period.^[13]

Not sure the private route is right? Compare the enforceability, total family cost, transportation, daily services, and exit options—not just the school’s name.

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Can Texas ESA pay for dyslexia tutoring or therapy instead of a whole school?

Yes. Private tutoring and qualifying educational therapies are approved expense categories, and they may be a better fit than a full-time specialist school. But a provider must satisfy the applicable program rules and be payable through the approved program marketplace.^[14]

The tutoring rule is broader than “must hold a teaching certificate.”

Under the current July 7 educator-credential policy, a lead educator providing tutoring or teaching services can qualify through routes that include:

• Current or retired employment with an accredited school
• Current or retired employment with an accredited higher-education institution
• An active state teaching license
• A Texas school-district teaching permit
• A recognized education credential
• A method-specific credential such as Orton-Gillingham certification
• A relevant bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree
• A relevant professional license or certificate

The provider must also meet the program’s background-check and marketplace requirements.^[15]

Texas dyslexia licenses are real—but they are title protections

Texas regulates the titles Licensed Dyslexia Therapist and Licensed Dyslexia Practitioner.

As of fiscal year 2025, TDLR reported:

• 1,406 total licensees
• 1,293 Licensed Dyslexia Therapists
• 113 Licensed Dyslexia Practitioners^[16]

Texas describes this as a title act, not a general practice act.

That means a person must meet the state requirements to use the protected title, but Texas does not prohibit every unlicensed person from providing all forms of reading or dyslexia instruction.

For a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist, current state requirements include:

• At least a master’s degree
• An IMSLEC-accredited training program
• At least 200 coursework hours
• At least 700 supervised clinical hours
• Ten observed demonstration lessons
• The applicable ALTA examination or qualifying certification^[16]

That is meaningful evidence of training.

It still does not prove that a particular provider is the right fit for your child.

Tutoring and educational therapy are not the same marketplace category

Before the first session, ask:

“Which TEFA marketplace category are you approved under, what credential is attached to that approval, and can you confirm that this service can be paid from my child’s account?”

Do not rely only on the provider saying, “We take Texas ESA.”

Confirm the category in the marketplace.

When school plus therapy may make more sense

A school-plus-therapy plan deserves serious consideration when:

• The child likes the current school
• The school provides a safe social fit
• The reading need is targeted
• The specialist-school commute is extreme
• The private-school tuition gap is too large
• The child needs a credentialed individual provider more than a full campus change
• The family wants to preserve a current placement while adding intensive structured literacy

A full-time dyslexia school is one tool.

It is not the only serious option.

A good school plus strong language therapy is a legitimate plan. Verify the provider’s marketplace category and credential before services begin.

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Can I increase my $10,474 award after the application closed?

A new evaluation after the 2026–27 application close does not automatically increase the current-year award. The official enhanced-funding rule required the qualifying IEP to be on file with the state by the end of the application period.^[17]

There are two different situations.

Situation 1: A qualifying IEP already existed, but the award appears wrong

The official program allows an appeal when a family believes the award amount is incorrect.

That is the right path when:

• The qualifying IEP existed by the deadline
• The state match may have failed
• The district of residence is wrong
• The instructional code appears to have been read incorrectly
• The award notice does not match the official district/code table

Appeals begin through Odyssey—not through TEA or the local district.^[1]

Situation 2: No qualifying IEP existed by the application close

The current official material does not say that a newly created IEP will retroactively raise the 2026–27 award.

That does not mean an evaluation is pointless.

TEA has created an EFA IEP process for eligible private-school and homeschool students. A district can evaluate the child, hold an ARD eligibility meeting, create the TEFA-specific IEP when appropriate, and upload the information to TEA.^[9]

That process may matter in a future application or funding cycle.

But the 2027–28 application dates, file deadline, and final funding rules have not been published.

So the honest answer is:

• For this school year: appeal an actual matching or calculation error.
• For a future cycle: start the evaluation process early, but do not treat an unpublished future award as guaranteed.

The door to a future enhanced calculation may still be open.

It is not a promise, and it is not retroactive by default.

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How do I get an IEP if my child is already in private school?

A parent may request a special-education evaluation even when the child attends private school or is homeschooled. The district of residence has Child Find duties, and a parent of a child enrolled in an eligible nonprofit private school may also request the evaluation from the district where that private school is located.^[9]

The basic Texas timeline is long:

1. The district has 15 school days to respond to a properly delivered written request.
2. After informed consent, the district generally has 45 school days to complete the evaluation report.
3. The ARD committee generally has 30 calendar days after the report to determine eligibility and develop the IEP when appropriate.^[9]

School-day rules, student absences, the end of the instructional year, summer, and the date consent is signed can change the exact calendar.

Applying for TEFA does not shorten those legal timelines.

Do not use a made-up universal November deadline

The 2027–28 TEFA application dates have not been announced.

Once the official close date is published, build the planning date this way:

1. Work back 30 calendar days for the ARD meeting.
2. Work back 45 school days for the evaluation.
3. Work back 15 school days for the district’s response to the written request.
4. Add time for consent, breaks, absences, record transfer, corrections, and the state upload.

Because school days exclude weekends, holidays, and many breaks, that process can span several calendar months.

The safest practical rule is simple:

Start as early as you can. Do not wait for the next TEFA application to open.

Which district should I ask?

• If your child is homeschooled, begin with the district of residence.
• If your child attends an eligible nonprofit private school, you may request from the district of residence or the district where the private school is located.
• If another district is already evaluating the child, disclose that fact so the districts can address overlapping Child Find responsibilities rather than unknowingly duplicating the process.

Ask who is evaluating dyslexia

TEA says the multidisciplinary evaluation must include professionals trained in the suspected disability.

When dyslexia is suspected, ask:

• Who on the evaluation team has training in dyslexia and reading?
• Which academic, language, phonological-processing, fluency, spelling, and written-expression measures will be considered?
• How will the private report be used?
• What additional data does the district believe it needs?
• What educational need—not merely diagnosis—is being evaluated?

Copy and send this evaluation request

Subject: Written Request for Full Individual and Initial Evaluation Dear [Special Education Director or Campus Administrator], I am the parent of [child’s full name], date of birth [date], who resides at [address] and currently attends [school or homeschool]. I am making a written request for a Full Individual and Initial Evaluation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Texas law. I suspect that my child has a disability and may need special education and related services. Areas of concern include [reading accuracy, decoding, fluency, spelling, written expression, math, attention, language, executive functioning, or other concerns]. My child has been diagnosed with or evaluated for [dyslexia or other condition]. I have attached [private evaluation, intervention records, report cards, 504 plan, work samples, or other records] and request that the multidisciplinary evaluation team consider these outside records when determining the assessments and data needed. Please provide the required prior written notice, procedural safeguards, evaluation information, and opportunity to provide informed consent within the applicable timeline. Please confirm in writing that this request was received and identify the person responsible for coordinating the evaluation. Sincerely, [Parent name] [Phone] [Email] [Date]

Send it to the special-education director or an administrative employee such as a campus principal. Keep the sent email, attachment list, delivery confirmation, and any response.

Already have private testing in a folder? Attach it to the written request. The district must consider relevant outside information even though the report does not independently create the TEFA funding code.

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How do I check a school before I pay a deposit?

Participation, tuition, grades, admissions, and current openings can change independently. Before paying anything nonrefundable, verify the exact campus in the official finder, obtain an actual admission decision, request the complete first-year cost, and get the school’s instructional promises in writing.

Work down this list.

It may be the cheapest hour you spend.

1. Search the exact filed name in the official finder.
2. Match the address, not only the brand.
3. Save the date and a screenshot.
4. Ask the school to confirm current participation in writing.
5. Confirm the current grade range from the school—not only the state file.
6. Confirm that admissions has reviewed your child’s evaluation.
7. Ask whether a seat is actually available.
8. Get an itemized first-year cost.
9. Identify every nonrefundable amount.
10. Get the promised instruction and accommodations in writing.
11. Get the withdrawal and refund terms.
12. Ask what happens if the award is delayed, prorated, reduced, or lost.

Why a school may be hard to find

Before concluding that a school does not participate, check whether:

• The legal name differs from the public name
• The school uses an LLC or corporate suffix
• Multiple campuses are filed separately
• Elementary and secondary divisions use separate names
• The school moved
• The school record was submitted after the workbook or screenshot you are using

Be careful with “we plan to accept Texas ESA”

A school’s intention is not the same as a current participating record.

Ask this exact question:

“What exact legal or campus name should I search in the official Texas Education Freedom Accounts finder, and has that participation been approved?”

If the answer is fuzzy, do not build a financial plan around it.

Before paying a deposit, save this section or print it. The school’s current participation, admission decision, instructional plan, complete cost, and refund terms should all exist in writing.

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What should I ask on a dyslexia school visit?

Do not stop at “Do you work with dyslexia?” Ask how often explicit reading instruction happens, who delivers it, what training the person has, how progress is measured, and which student profiles the school openly says it cannot serve.

Bring this list.

About the instruction

1. Does my child receive explicit structured-literacy instruction every school day?
2. What method, curriculum, or sequence do you use?
3. How many direct minutes does my child receive each day or week?
4. Is it one-to-one or in a group?
5. What is the maximum group size?
6. Are groups formed by grade, age, or skill level?
7. How do you address spelling and written expression?
8. How do you address fluency and comprehension after decoding improves?

About who teaches it

1. Who actually delivers the reading intervention?
2. What dyslexia-specific training does that person have?
3. Does the person hold a CALT, LDT, Orton-Gillingham, structured-literacy, or other relevant credential?
4. Who observes or supervises the instruction?
5. What professional development is required each year?

A familiar acronym is not enough.

Ask what the person actually completed and what role that person has with your child.

About progress

1. Your school reported [name the workbook test, if applicable] to the state. Which students receive it?
2. Is it used for admission, placement, progress monitoring, or another purpose?
3. How often will my child be assessed?
4. What baseline will you establish?
5. Which skills will you track?
6. How and how often will I receive the results?
7. What changes when my child is not progressing?

About the whole child

1. How do you support attention and executive functioning?
2. What happens when anxiety interferes with learning?
3. Which needs are outside the school’s scope?
4. How do you support a child who is bright or twice exceptional?
5. How do you handle social-communication needs?
6. Which behaviors can lead to dismissal or a finding that the placement is no longer appropriate?

About rights and money

1. Which of my child’s current accommodations will you provide?
2. Will those commitments be put in writing?
3. What is the complete first-year cost?
4. Which payments are nonrefundable?
5. Will the school align payments with TEFA installments?
6. What happens if the official award is lower than expected?
7. What happens if the school leaves the program?
8. What are the withdrawal terms if the placement does not work?

The question that changes the room is not “Do you care about dyslexia?”

It is:

“Show me how you will know whether my child is making enough progress—and what you will change if the answer is no.”

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What if the school I want is not on the list?

Not finding an exact school name does not prove the school refused to participate. It may use a different legal name, may be filed by campus, may have submitted after the dated workbook, or may not currently participate.

We searched several well-known Texas dyslexia or learning-differences schools and did not find exact-name matches in the August 2 workbook under the names searched.

Those included:

• Dallas Academy
• The Joy School
• Starpoint School
• Hillier School
• Newfound School
• Crisman School
• The Harris School
• A Dallas Winston campus

We are not saying those schools do not accept TEFA.

We are saying that those exact names were not found in the state workbook we checked on the date we checked it.

Those are very different statements.

Call the school and ask:

“What exact legal or campus name should I search in the official finder, and is the school currently approved to receive TEFA payments?”

Then verify the answer yourself.

If the school truly is not participating

Your practical options include:

• Ask whether the school intends to apply
• Ask whether another current campus or legal entity is participating
• Compare another participating school
• Keep the current school and use approved funds for eligible tutoring, therapy, assessment, or other services when permitted
• Prepare for a future cycle while protecting the child’s current placement

Schools can apply on a rolling basis, but a parent request does not guarantee approval or a particular timeline.^[4]

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What should I do if I’m waitlisted or planning for 2027–28?

The 2026–27 application window ran February 4 through March 31 and is closed. Awards were allocated through statutory priority tiers and a lottery—not first-come-first-served. The state’s July 29 report listed more than 274,000 applications, more than 122,000 awards, 85,344 funded accounts, and more than 121,000 students still on the waitlist.^[6]

The award process remains active, and the state has since announced additional waitlist awards.

Follow the deadline in your own portal

The official funding-timeline page says students brought off the waitlist after July 15 may receive prorated funding.

That same page currently contains language that does not line up cleanly:

• Its prose says confirmation by September 15 can preserve a full award.
• Its table labels the September 15 round as 75% after the prior confirmation point.

Because the official page itself is unclear, do not rely on a universal deadline copied from another website.

Use:

1. The deadline shown in your portal
2. The amount shown in the award notice
3. Written confirmation from Odyssey if the proration is unclear

Initial awarded families had separate July 15 parent-selection and July 31 school-confirmation deadlines. Later waitlist awards can follow different timing.^[18]

Join the official 2027–28 interest list

The next application dates have not been announced.

Use the official family page to join the state’s interest list. Do not rely on our newsletter—or anyone else’s—as a substitute for the official notification channel.^[19]

Build the document pack now

Put these in one folder:

• Texas residency documents
• Child identity and eligibility documents
• Current IEP, if one exists
• Full evaluation reports
• Official Disability Certification Form, if used
• 504 plan
• Report cards
• Standardized or achievement-test results
• Reading-intervention records
• Relevant work samples
• Income documentation for priority verification
• School-admission documents

The families who struggle during a short application window are not less deserving.

They are often less assembled.

Start school applications separately

TEFA acceptance and school admission are different lines.

A specialist school may:

• Begin admissions before TEFA opens
• Require a current evaluation
• Ask for a shadow day
• Fill a grade before funding is announced
• Require a nonrefundable deposit
• Hold the family to an annual contract

Apply early enough to understand the options, but understand the deposit risk before signing.

Plan the evaluation backward from the real deadline

When the 2027–28 application close is announced:

• subtract the ARD period,
• subtract the evaluation school days,
• subtract the district-response school days,
• add school breaks and a buffer,
• and begin earlier than the minimum.

Do not wait for January simply because the prior application closed in March.

Do not treat mid-November as a legal statewide deadline either.

Use the child’s district calendar and the actual published TEFA date.

Still unsure how the pieces fit together? Take the free school choice matching quiz and get a personalized action plan based on your child’s grade, needs, location, and funding stage.

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How we built this list, and what we actually verified

We began with the state’s participating-school workbook, report run August 2, 2026, and reviewed its 2,785 school/campus records. We then required a current school-owned source explicitly connecting each included full-time school to dyslexia or a named language-based learning profile.

Where a source conflicted with another source, we showed the conflict.

Where we could not verify a consequential claim, we left it out.

What we verified

• Each of the 18 included schools appears by exact name in the August 2 state workbook
• The workbook footer reads “Report Run as of 8/2/26”
• The workbook contains 2,785 records after excluding its header and footer
• Grade fields and submission timestamps come from that workbook
• The achievement-battery field is the school’s self-reported state-file answer
• Each included school has current school-owned dyslexia or language-based-learning evidence
• Current tuition figures in the cost table come from school-owned pages
• Each tuition gap uses the same formula: published tuition minus $10,474
• The standard award, IEP funding rule, and application dates come from current official program materials
• The dyslexia-SLD counts come from TEA’s 2025 Annual Report
• The 58.0% and 97.9% figures are our calculations from TEA’s published counts

What we did not verify—and will not pretend to

• Current seat availability: contact the school
• Admission for any child: no list can guarantee that
• Educational outcomes: this page makes no outcome claim
• Every possible fee: request the written first-year total
• Implementation of a public-school IEP: get private-school commitments in writing
• A child’s official enhanced amount: use the official award notice and program table
• Whether every self-reported achievement battery is administered to every child
• The Novus Academy’s exact participating campus
• Current first-party verification for the Austin Odyssey record
• Current tuition where the school does not publish a clear figure

Where the sources require context

Who made this and why

The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs.

We built this page because the official finder can confirm participation but cannot filter full-time schools by dyslexia. That leaves parents opening school sites, tuition pages, admissions pages, and state records one by one.

We did that cross-check once so you do not have to start from zero.

No school paid for inclusion or placement on this page. Inclusion and table order are based on the published verification method—not payment.

If a school name, grade, tuition amount, participation record, or source is wrong, report the correction with the school name, disputed field, and current primary source.

Dataset version: TX-TEFA-DYSLEXIA-2026-08-04-v1.0

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Frequently asked questions

Is “Texas ESA” the same thing as TEFA?

Yes. “Texas ESA” is common parent shorthand. The official name is Texas Education Freedom Accounts, shortened to TEFA. Use the official name when searching program rules, forms, the marketplace, and the participating-school finder.

Does dyslexia automatically qualify my child for $30,000?

No. Enhanced funding requires a qualifying Texas IEP on file with the state under the current program rule. The exact amount depends on district and instructional code, and $30,000 is the total cap—not the standard disability award.

Does a 504 plan qualify my child for the higher amount?

No. A 504 plan is not an IEP and does not create the enhanced-funding calculation.

The current program materials also do not list a 504 plan by itself as one of the standalone disability-priority documents.

Does my private psychologist’s evaluation count?

It does not independently create the enhanced award.

It can still matter for school admission, district evaluation, determining needed assessments, reducing duplicate testing, and supporting an official Disability Certification Form when completed through the proper process.

Is Shelton School a Texas ESA school?

Shelton School appears by exact name in the August 2 participating-school workbook and publishes TEFA information on its own site.

That proves current participation as of the dated sources.

It does not guarantee admission, an open seat, or full tuition coverage.

Can I use Texas ESA for Orton-Gillingham tutoring?

Potentially, yes.

The provider must be approved under the applicable TEFA marketplace category and satisfy the current educator-credential and background-check policy. Orton-Gillingham certification is one of the credential examples recognized by the program.

Can TEFA pay a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist?

Potentially, if the provider and service are approved in the applicable marketplace category.

Do not assume that holding the state title automatically makes every service payable. Confirm the provider’s current marketplace category and the service before beginning.

Do private schools have to follow my child’s IEP?

Not in the same manner as a public district or charter school.

The IEP can be used in the funding calculation without becoming an enforceable private-school service contract. Put the school’s actual instructional and accommodation commitments in writing.

Can my child stay in public school and use TEFA funds?

A child can be enrolled in public or charter school when applying, but continued full-time public or charter enrollment is not compatible with receiving TEFA funding for the private or homeschool setting.

A charter school is a public school.

When does the next application open?

The 2027–28 dates have not been announced.

Join the official state interest list and verify future dates directly through the TEFA family page.

Can unused funds roll over?

Current official materials say remaining funds can roll over while the child remains an active participant in the program.

Can religious schools participate?

Yes. The participating-school list includes both faith-based and secular schools.

Ask each school about chapel, religious curriculum, conduct expectations, family participation, and any statement-of-faith requirement.

What if a school leaves the program?

Ask the school and Odyssey how already billed tuition, future payments, refunds, and remaining account funds would be handled in your exact situation.

Do not assume every contract or departure will be handled the same way.

My district said my child does not qualify for special education. What now?

Ask for the district’s prior written notice explaining the decision.

Parents may use IDEA dispute-resolution options when they disagree with an evaluation, eligibility decision, or missed timeline. Depending on the circumstances, that can include an independent educational evaluation request, mediation, a state complaint, or due process.

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One last thing

If you take nothing else from this page, take these three.

One. Many of the Texas dyslexia and learning-differences schools parents already know are in the participating-school data.

Two. Participation does not prove fit, and a disability label does not automatically produce a $30,000 award. The standard amount is $10,474. Enhanced funding depends on a qualifying Texas IEP, district, and instructional code. Tier 1 priority also has an income condition.

Three. If your child does not have the needed IEP, start the district evaluation process early. Do not wait for the next application to open, but do not build your plan around an invented universal November deadline either. Use the official application close, your district’s school calendar, and the legal evaluation timeline.

You’ve been fighting for this kid for a while now.

You noticed something was wrong before other people understood it. You found the testing. You learned the acronyms. You sat through meetings where everyone else seemed to know rules nobody had explained to you.

You are not late.

You have just been working with worse information than you deserved.

Still not sure which path is right for your family? Take our free 60-second school choice matching quiz. Answer a few questions about your child’s grade, needs, location, and funding stage. Get a personalized school choice action plan with the paths worth investigating and the next step for each one.

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The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs. This page provides educational information, not legal, financial, or individualized educational advice. Program rules, school participation, tuition, and admissions can change. Confirm current requirements with the Texas Comptroller, the Texas Education Agency, Odyssey, and the individual school before making a family decision.

Last verified: August 4, 2026 · State school data: August 2, 2026 · Report a correction

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^[1]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Special Education Funding

^[2]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Families: priority tiers and eligibility

^[3]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Toolkit and participating-school list

^[4]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Private-school participation requirements

^[5]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Family information and special-education rights disclosure

^[6]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Annual Demographic Report 2026–27

^[7]Texas Education Agency — Nonpublic/Non-District Operated Program Guidance

^[8]Texas Education Agency — Annual Report 2025

^[9]Texas Education Agency — Senate Bill 2: Education Savings Accounts and Children with Disabilities

^[10]School-owned tuition sources: Great Lakes Academy, The Key School, Fairhill School, The Briarwood School, and Dyslexia School of Houston. St. Timothy Christian Academy tuition was checked against its current school-published schedule.

^[11]Shelton School — 2026–27 Tuition and Fees

^[12]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — current program timeline

^[13]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Funding Timelines and Installments

^[14]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Approved educational expenses

^[15]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Educator Credential Policy

^[16]Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: Dyslexia Therapy at a Glance and Licensed Dyslexia Therapist requirements

^[17]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Parent Application Guide

^[18]Texas Education Freedom Accounts: Waitlist Information and Funding Timelines and Installments

^[19]Texas Education Freedom Accounts — Family page and 2027–28 interest list