The Comptroller's first demographic snapshot of Education Freedom Accounts drew headlines mostly went to the big urban districts, where funded students number in the thousands. The Rio Grande Valley's figures are smaller, but they say a lot about how the program reached families in Hidalgo and Starr counties, and about what a Valley family should do differently when the second application window opens.
The headline number: 3,235
The report groups participants by regional education service center. Region 1, which is based in Edinburg and covers the lower Valley along with the border counties upriver, finished the first round with 3,235 funded students as of July 29, 2026. That count includes Cameron and Willacy counties, which aren't part of our coverage area, so the Hidalgo and Starr County share is somewhat lower.
For perspective, the statewide total was 85,344 funded accounts out of roughly 274,000 applicants, with more than 121,000 eligible children left on the waitlist. Senate Bill 2 capped the first year at $1 billion, and demand ran well past that everywhere in Texas, including the Valley.
District by district
The report lists every school district where at least 30 funded students live. In our two counties, those were:
- Edinburg CISD: 407
- McAllen ISD: 312
- Sharyland ISD: 160
- Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD: 155
- Weslaco ISD: 153
- Mission CISD: 75
- Donna ISD: 73
- La Joya ISD: 72
- Hidalgo ISD: 57
- Rio Grande City Grulla ISD: 50
Mercedes, Edcouch-Elsa, Valley View, Roma and the other smaller districts had fewer than 30 participants each, so the report doesn't break them out. Our McAllen voucher guide puts these counts next to each district's IEP amounts.
Why Edinburg and McAllen came out on top
The pattern lines up with where the private school seats are. In our directory, nearly all of the participating K-12 schools in Hidalgo and Starr counties are in McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr, Alamo, Weslaco and Mission. Covenant Christian Academy and South Texas Christian Academy are on McAllen's north side, Harvest Christian Academy and St. Joseph Catholic School are in Edinburg, and the Catholic regional high school sits south of Mission. A family living near those campuses could actually use an account; a family in western La Joya ISD or Starr County faced a longer drive to reach any participating school.
Sharyland ISD's 160 is also worth noticing. It is a much smaller district than PSJA or La Joya, yet its residents held more accounts than either. Sharyland's attendance zone wraps around north and west McAllen and Mission, close to several of the larger Christian campuses.
Who was funded first
TEFA doesn't hand out accounts on a first-come basis. When applications outran the money, the Comptroller ran a lottery inside priority tiers: children with disabilities from households at or under 500% of the federal poverty level, then households at or under 200%, then 200% to 500%, then everyone else. Statewide, 68,000 of the 85,344 funded students came from the at-or-under-200% group.
That ordering matters in the Valley, where a large share of working families fall inside the 200% line. Many two-income households in McAllen and Edinburg fall in that second tier. If your family was waitlisted, the tier you were placed in is the first thing to check before you reapply.
What an IEP adds here
Children with a current public-school IEP on file with TEA receive more than the $10,474 base. How much more is set by the child's home district and the IEP's setting code. For 2026-27, a child taught in regular classes with supports (code 40) carries $16,889 in McAllen ISD, $16,673 in Edinburg CISD, $17,035 in PSJA ISD and $17,074 in Sharyland ISD. Small districts receive more per student under the state formula, so the same IEP comes to $20,356 in La Villa ISD and $22,014 in San Isidro ISD. Every district's figures are on our IEP amounts by district page.
Pre-K is a bigger story than K-12
One thing the district counts don't show is how many approved pre-K providers the Valley has. On our check of the state finder, Hidalgo and Starr counties had several times more approved pre-K and kindergarten providers than participating K-12 schools. Pre-K eligibility follows the free public pre-K rules, and two of those criteria, limited English proficiency and free or reduced-price meal eligibility, fit a lot of Valley families. We cover that in detail on the TEFA pre-K page.
What changes for 2027-28
Year two follows rules already written into law:
- Current participants who follow the rules keep their accounts with no second lottery.
- Brothers and sisters of this year's participants jump ahead of other first-time applicants.
- Waitlisted and new families must file a fresh application. Nothing carries over from year one.
- The size of the program depends on the 90th Legislature, which convenes January 12, 2027.
The Comptroller hasn't announced 2027-28 dates. Until it does, the practical steps are the same for everyone: sign up for notices at educationfreedom.texas.gov, keep your latest federal tax return where you can find it, make sure your address matches your district of residence, and keep to each school's own admissions timeline. An award doesn't reserve a seat at any school.
The bottom line for Valley families
Region 1's 3,235 funded students are a start, and the concentration in Edinburg and McAllen reflects where the participating schools are. If you live farther out, look at pre-K providers near home, ask whether a school closer to you plans to apply to TEFA, and check how far you're willing to drive. If you'd like help sorting out which sources fit your child, our two-minute funding check is a good place to start.