In El Paso, a $10,474 account can cover a full year of Catholic or church school.
1,810 students in El Paso and Hudspeth counties had funded Education Freedom Accounts by late July. 28 K-12 schools and 19 pre-K providers here are in the program. We'll show you how the account combines with diocesan aid, IEP funding, bilingual and military pre-K, and Child Care Services.
Per private-school student, 2026-27. It's the same at every grade. An IEP can raise it to as much as $30,000, and homeschool students get $2,000.
El Paso ISD students funded by July 29, the 19th-highest district total in Texas. Socorro ISD families held 462.
El Paso Catholic schools listed by the diocesan schools office as TEFA participants.
An El Paso ISD student with a mainstream IEP at a participating school in 2026-27, including children living on Fort Bliss.
An El Paso parish school bill with TEFA
An illustrative K-8 parish school with $7,250 tuition plus $650 in registration, book and technology fees.
Illustrative example. The TEFA amount is the published 2026-27 award. Tuition and discounts vary by school.
Where El Paso families find the money
The state account with its IEP, pre-K and homeschool tiers, Catholic school aid, Child Care Services through Workforce Solutions Borderplex, EPCC dual credit, the 2027 federal credit, and school and partner aid.
Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA)
Texas's education savings account pays $10,474 in 2026-27 toward an El Paso student's tuition at a participating private school, deposited through the state's platform in three installments.
Who qualifies →IEP · Up to $30,000TEFA with an IEP (up to $30,000)
If a TEFA student has a current IEP on file with the Texas Education Agency, the account adds what the home district would have drawn for that IEP setting, up to $30,000 in total.
Who qualifies →Ages 3-5 · $10,474TEFA Pre-K & Kindergarten
A 3- or 4-year-old who meets one of Texas's free pre-K criteria can be funded at the full $10,474 at an approved provider. In El Paso, limited English and active-duty military service are two of the most common ways in.
Who qualifies →Homeschool · $2,000TEFA Homeschool / Other ($2,000)
A TEFA student who isn't enrolled at a participating private school, usually a homeschooler, gets $2,000 a year, deposited in full on July 1.
Who qualifies →Catholic schoolsCatholic School Aid in El Paso (FACTS, Burkitt & Catholic Foundation)
El Paso's Catholic schools layer their own aid on top of TEFA: diocesan need-based awards through the FACTS form, Burkitt Foundation assistance at seven schools, and scholarship funds held by the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso.
Who qualifies →Income-based · Ages 0-12Child Care Services (Workforce Solutions Borderplex)
Texas's child care subsidy pays part of the cost of licensed care for working, job-seeking and student parents. Locally it is run by Workforce Solutions Borderplex, whose area covers El Paso and Hudspeth counties and four Trans-Pecos counties.
Who qualifies →Military families: three rules that matter here
No on-post district
Fort Bliss lies within El Paso ISD, which runs the schools on post. A child living on post is an El Paso ISD resident, so a mainstream IEP totals $16,714.
Texas side only
TEFA requires a Texas home address. Families stationed at Fort Bliss but living in New Mexico can't apply, however close they are to the gate.
Funded pre-K at any income
A 3- or 4-year-old with an active-duty parent meets the state pre-K test. Join the interest list early, because a PCS that lands after the window means waiting a cycle.
Fort Bliss guide →38 El Paso-area private schools, matched to state and federal records
Every school shows grades, affiliation, federal enrollment figures, any special-education services it reported, and whether it was in the TEFA finder on our last check.
Catholic Schools
Diocese of El Paso parish schools such as St. Patrick Cathedral, St. Matthew, Most Holy Trinity and St. Raphael, plus Loretto Academy, Cathedral High School and the Father Yermo campus.
9 schools →Christian Schools
Non-denominational, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist and Episcopal schools, from St. Clement's Parish School and Immanuel Christian on down to one-building church academies on the East Side.
15 schools →Independent & Secular Schools
Radford School, El Paso Country Day, The Cherry Hill School, Western Hills Academy, Telos Academy, the NHHSA campuses and other schools without a religious sponsor, plus Palm Tree Academy, an Islamic school.
14 schools →High Schools (Grades 9-12)
Private schools that run through grade 12, from Cathedral and Loretto to the K-12 Christian academies and online programs.
20 schools →By community: Central El Paso · West Side · Upper Valley, Canutillo & Anthony · Northeast & Fort Bliss · Lower Valley · Far East
Partner with El Paso Edu Funding
We bring you families who already know how they'll pay. Churches weighing a school of their own get the Texas requirements and the two-year route into TEFA.
El Paso school funding news
Catholic school in El Paso with TEFA: nine schools, tuition below the award, and where diocesan aid fits now
Nine El Paso Catholic schools are listed as TEFA participants, and local tuition often sits below the $10,474 award. How leftovers, FACTS aid, the Burkitt Foundation and the Bishop's Scholarship Fund fit together.
Read →Oct 8, 2026Fort Bliss families and TEFA: El Paso ISD on post, the New Mexico question and funded pre-K
Fort Bliss has no district of its own, many families live in New Mexico, and active-duty preschoolers qualify for TEFA pre-K at any income. What that means for military families in El Paso.
Read →Oct 5, 2026El Paso's first TEFA year by the numbers: 4,400 applications, 1,810 funded students
How Texas Education Freedom Accounts played out in El Paso and Hudspeth counties in year one: applications, funded students by district, why totals stayed modest, and what to do for 2027-28.
Read →See which funding your El Paso family can stack
Answer a few quick questions, and a School Funding Advisor will phone you with the sources that fit, in English or Spanish. There's no cost and nothing to sign.