Families in Clear Creek ISD claimed 658 awards from the state's new school voucher program, according to district-level data the Texas Comptroller's Office released June 9.

Friendswood ISD families received 93 awards.

The numbers come from the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, or TEFA, which the Legislature funded with $1 billion for its first year. The program offers up to $10,474 per child for private school tuition and $2,000 per homeschooled student. Students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000.

Not all awarded families followed through.

A July 29 demographic report from the comptroller's office showed 565 Clear Creek ISD students and 79 Friendswood ISD students had funded, active accounts. Parents must opt in and confirm enrollment at a participating school before money flows.

Statewide, 274,183 families applied during a February-through-March window, according to the comptroller's application insights report. Of those, 247,032 were deemed eligible. The comptroller's office awarded 102,037 applications by June 10, per its fact sheet, and demand far outstripped funding.

Because applications exceeded available dollars, the state used a tiered lottery. Students with disabilities and families earning below 200% of the federal poverty level, about $66,000 for a family of four, received top priority. About 80% of participating students come from families below that income threshold, and 25% have a qualifying disability, according to the July 29 demographic report.

The waitlist remains massive. As of June 10, 144,744 eligible students were still waiting. By late August, that number had dropped to roughly 100,000 after the comptroller's office funded an additional 15,000 accounts, the Houston Chronicle reported in September. On Aug. 28, the comptroller announced another 4,500 awards from the waitlist, bringing total active awards above 118,000 statewide, Click2Houston reported Sept. 14.

The comptroller's office has said it will keep issuing awards until all funding is spent. No updated district-level breakdown has been released since June 9, so it is unclear how many additional Clear Creek ISD or Friendswood ISD families have received awards from the waitlist.

The data also show who was already outside public schools. About 70% of TEFA awardees statewide previously attended private school or were homeschooled, according to state data KPRC 2 reported Aug. 18. David DeMatthews, a University of Texas at Austin education professor, said in the Aug. 18 KPRC 2 report that the pattern matched other states with similar programs.

For Clear Creek ISD, the voucher program adds another variable to a tight budget year. The district is projecting an $18.4 million shortfall for fiscal year 2026-27, Chief Financial Officer Alice Benzaia said at the board of trustees' July 13 workshop. Benzaia listed enrollment declines, inflation, staffing costs and state funding uncertainty as converging pressures. "All kind of come together," she said at the workshop, as Community Impact reported.

The comptroller's office is seeking $2.3 billion in the coming two-year state budget to continue the program, Axios reported Sept. 3. Families who did not apply this year can submit an interest form at the comptroller's TEFA website for the 2027-28 school year.