The deadline for Texas families to apply for Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), also known as school vouchers, is on March 17.

TEFA is the $1 billion program that provides families with taxpayer money to help pay for private school. A longtime priority of Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans were able to pass it through the Legislature in a special session in 2025 after years of opposition from a coalition of Democrats and some Republicans worried about it negatively impacting public schools.

In the period from when applications opened on Feb. 4 through March 8, more than 160,000 Texas families have applied for the vouchers. Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock expects the program to reach capacity in its first year.  

Texas school voucher application data by income

According to data from the Comptroller’s Office, 79% of the applicants for TEFA are already in private school. Lawmakers who advocated for the program said it was designed to give public school and homeschooled students an opportunity to switch to a private education.

After applications close, the Comptroller’s Office will allocate funding to eligible families through a lottery that prioritizes students with disabilities first. Eleven percent of all applicants, about 18,000, are students with disabilities from families at or below 500% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Next on the priority list is students from low- and middle-income families. Just 35% of applicants are from households that earn 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level:

• 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level ($66,000 or less for a family of 4): 35%
• Between 200% and 500% of the Federal Poverty Level ($66,001-$164,999 for a family of 4): 36%
• 500% or more of the Federal Poverty Level: ($165,000 or more for a family of 4): 29%

The Comptroller’s Office will report the waitlist to the Texas Legislature to determine funding for future years.

Texas school voucher application data by grade

The highest share of applications are for students who will be entering pre-K in the fall. Nearly 21,000 applications, about 12.8%, are in that cohort. The number of applicants per grade level declines as the students get older:

• Pre-K: 20,975
• Kindergarten: 15,777
• First grade: 13,654
• Second grade: 13,035
• Third grade: 12,922
• Fourth grade: 12,449
• Fifth grade: 12,273
• Sixth grade: 12,262
• Seventh grade: 10,953
• Eighth grade: 9,600
• Ninth grade: 9,464
• Tenth grade: 7.921
• Eleventh grade: 6,731
• Twelfth grade: 5,347

Texas school voucher applications by school district

The Comptroller’s Office also released a list that broke down the number of applications submitted in each school district across the state.

How much money public school districts will miss out on will depend on how many enrolled or prospective students they lose to private school because of TEFA, since state funds follow the student. But since 79% of applicants are already in private school, the extent of the impact on public school funding may be limited. 

Here are the North Texas school districts with the most TEFA applications from within their boundaries:

• Dallas ISD: 5,267
• Fort Worth ISD: 3,151
• Plano ISD: 2,875
• Richardson ISD: 1,803
• Frisco ISD: 1,793
• Arlington ISD: 1,746
• Northwest ISD: 1,661
• Garland ISD: 1,622
• Lewisville ISD: 1,614
• Keller ISD: 1,541

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones condemned flyers with Jim Crow-era images discouraging voters from supporting redistricting in the state.

The mailers, which Jones told WTOP he first learned about last weekend, featured pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement. One such mailer said, “Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”

The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort.

A group, Justice for Democracy, has been sending out mailers and texts with some clear dog whistles, using varying disclaimers in Virginia (“Democracy and Justice PAC” and “Justice for Democracy PAC”).

Its treasurer is listed as Christopher Woodfin and its address is the same … pic.twitter.com/JvetyKGnbw

— Matt Royer (@royermattw) March 7, 2026

Early voting is underway, as Democrats in the state push for changes to congressional districts that are expected to give them more of an advantage in Congress. They said it’s in response to President Donald Trump encouraging redistricting in Republican-led states such as Texas. Republicans, though, have been critical.

In an interview with WTOP, Jones, Virginia’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers are disturbing, shocking, offensive and deceptive.

“It’s very clear a MAGA-linked group that opposes the referendum is sending these mailers to Black voters, and they’re misusing very, very hurtful imagery from the Civil Rights Movement, even invoking Jim Crow, to weaponize one of the darkest chapters in our history, to scare people into voting no and help Republicans maintain a rigged map for 2026 so they can keep control of Congress,” Jones said.

In a statement, the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the flyers falsely compare redistricting to Jim Crow.

“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia.

The purpose of the mailers, Jones said, is to “suppress the vote. It’s to make sure that people don’t go make their voices heard during this election.”

The flyers said they’re paid for by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC. Former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Republican, is listed as the chairman, according to Virginia Board of Elections documents.

“I couldn’t see why they say it’s insulting,” Cordoza told WTOP. “I’m a Black man. I don’t want my Black vote to be taken away.”

The proposed new map, Cordoza said, “ripped apart majority-minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from Northern Virginia.”

Cordoza said he didn’t know how many homes the mailers had been sent to or how much the PAC spent on them.

“I want people to do their research and see exactly what’s happening,” Cordoza said. “We, as Virginians, voted for a bipartisan redistricting commission for a reason.”

Jones, though, said he sits “across the dinner table from people who have had their right to vote denied because of the color of their skin. It’s 2026. I would hope that we’d be past tactics like this, but clearly we aren’t.”

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DALLAS – Severe thunderstorms are forecast to return to North Texas late Tuesday, bringing threats of damaging hail, high winds and localized flooding. While the primary concerns are wind and hail, a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out.

Tuesday Forecast

Scattered showers and storms are expected to develop as a dryline to the west moves into the region. Storm conditions are expected to intensify as the day progresses.

The greatest concerns remain damaging winds and large hail. The leading edge of the storm front will likely be the most intense, with the potential for straight-line winds and brief spin-up tornadoes.

LIVE Radar: Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas Storms: Timing and Impact

The highest potential for severe weather in the Metroplex is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., though lingering activity could continue until 2 a.m. Wednesday. Residents are advised to seek shelter immediately if a warning is issued for their area.

7-Day Forecast

A final round of storms is expected Wednesday, primarily between noon and 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. These storms carry a threat of half-dollar-sized hail and damaging winds. 

Behind this system, North Texas will dry out and briefly cool off. Sunny skies return Thursday with a high in the mid-60s. Temperatures will then warm into the upper 70s on Friday before a sunny weekend with highs in the low 80s.