Plenty of Central Texas families use a Texas Education Freedom Account for more than tuition. A homeschooling family in Leander wants a math tutor twice a week. A Round Rock parent whose child is at a small Christian school wants a reading specialist after school. A Dripping Springs family wants a chemistry tutor for a teenager working through an online course. All of that can be paid from the account, but only if the person teaching meets rules the Comptroller set out this summer. Here is how those rules work and how to check a tutor before you spend.
The rule in one sentence
When TEFA money pays for instruction outside a participating school, state law treats it as tutoring or teaching services, and the educator has to pass a fingerprint background check and meet a credential or employment standard. The Comptroller's Educator Credential Policy, published July 7, 2026, spells that out.
Who qualifies as a lead educator
Every student needs a lead educator who is primarily responsible for the instruction and is present the whole time, in person or online. That person must meet at least one of three tests:
- A current or retired employee of an accredited school
- A current or retired employee of an accredited college or university
- The holder of a relevant credential
The policy lists what counts as a relevant credential:
- An active teaching license from Texas or another state
- A valid Texas school district teaching permit
- Certification from an educator credentialing body, with the American Montessori Society and the Society for Classical Learning given as examples
- Certification in a specific method, with Orton-Gillingham given as an example
- A bachelor's, graduate, doctoral or professional degree from an accredited institution in a subject related to the instruction
- A professional license or certificate related to the instruction
Helpers are treated differently. Aides and paraeducators who assist the lead educator don't need the credential, but they do need the same fingerprint background check.
What that means in Austin
A lot of Austin tutors qualify more easily than parents assume. A former Austin ISD or Round Rock ISD teacher counts as a retired employee of an accredited school. A University of Texas graduate student teaching in their degree field can qualify through the degree. An engineer with a professional license tutoring physics may qualify through that license, because it relates to the subject.
Where families run into trouble is the friend-of-a-friend tutor: a bright college sophomore or a neighbor who is good at math but holds no degree, license or school job. Under the policy, that person can't be the lead educator on a TEFA-funded session, however capable they are.
The Orton-Gillingham example matters here. Austin has a deep bench of dyslexia specialists; 16 of the approved tutoring providers in our directory list dyslexia or dysgraphia as a specialty. A therapist with an Orton-Gillingham certification qualifies through that certification even without a teaching license.
The tutors already in the marketplace
The simplest path is to hire a provider that has already been approved for the TEFA marketplace. The Comptroller says approved providers have been found to meet the legal requirements to offer their services. In our directory for Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, we count 70 approved tutoring providers: 41 based in Travis County, 24 in Williamson and 5 in Hays. More than a third offer sessions online.
They range widely. There are franchise learning centers such as Kumon, Mathnasium and Huntington in Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown, Leander and Kyle. There are dyslexia practices like Cherish-Ed Dyslexia & Learning Clinic in Austin, Ember and Ivy Literacy in Cedar Park and Hill Country Dyslexia Services in San Marcos. And there are solo tutors, among them a Dripping Springs math tutor who teaches through calculus. Our Austin tutoring directory lists them by county and subject, and the dyslexia page pulls together the reading specialists.
Approved isn't the same as recommended
The Comptroller is careful on this point. A provider's presence in the marketplace isn't an endorsement by the state or by any certified educational assistance organization. The policy puts the responsibility on parents to make sure anyone paid from the account has the knowledge, skills and professional competence to help the child meet their learning goals.
In practice, treat the marketplace as a floor, not a quality rating. Before you book, ask:
- Who will actually teach my child, and which credential does that person hold?
- If a center uses several tutors, is the lead educator present for every session?
- Has everyone who works with my child, including aides, passed the fingerprint check?
- How will you measure progress, and how often will I see it?
- Can I try one or two sessions before committing to a package?
How much of the account to plan for
For a homeschooled child, the account holds up to $2,000 for the year, which goes quickly at private tutoring rates. Many families split it between curriculum and a set number of tutoring sessions. Our homeschool guide shows how Central Texas families have used that amount.
For a child at a participating private school, tutoring comes out of whatever is left after tuition and required fees. If your school's tuition is at or above the $10,474 award, there may be little or nothing left. At a school priced below the award, the remainder can cover a semester of help. Our guide to what's left after TEFA runs through the arithmetic.
If your favorite tutor isn't listed
A tutor who meets the credential rules but isn't in the marketplace can't be paid from the account until they're approved. Point them to the Comptroller's provider information. The bar is clear, and a former teacher or degree-holder in the subject should be able to show they meet it.
If you'd like help matching a tutor to your child's needs and your remaining balance, a School Funding Advisor can walk through the options with you.