Table of Contents
Background
The 89th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2 (SB 2), which created a new education savings account (ESA) program. With the launch of such a new and large program taking time, ESAs will not be available in the 2025-2026 school year.
Access to the ESA program for the 2026-2027 school year begins with the submission of an application (see the Parent Application Checklist PDF). Families may submit their application and needed documentation from February 4, 2026, to March 17, 2026. The program expects to notify successful applicants in April 2026.
To stay up-to-date about the ESA program, you can subscribe to our Special Education email list and/or sign up for one of the Texas Comptroller’s ESA outreach lists.
A summary of SB 2 is below.
Legal Rights for Students with Disabilities
SB 2 does not require private schools to provide special education services to students with disabilities. However, other laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in certain private schools and might also require reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures.
- Private schools that are not owned or controlled by a religious organization are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Nonreligious private schools may not discriminate on the basis of disability.
- Nonreligious private schools must provide reasonable modifications, unless they would either pose an undue burden or fundamentally alter the nature of the school’s services.
- Private schools that are owned or controlled by a religious organization are not subject to the ADA.
- Private schools that are recipients of federal financial assistance are subject to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 requirements match those under the ADA.
- Under state law, private schools are subject to Chapter 121 of the Texas Human Resources Code. Chapter 121 prohibits various types of disability discrimination, and which also requires reasonable accommodations, unless they would either pose an undue burden or fundamentally alter the nature of the school’s services.
ESA Funding for Students with Disabilities
SB 2 allots a higher level of funding for students who would receive special education services if they were enrolled in public school. The cap on funding for these students is $30,000 annually. The exact amount will be determined by the ESA program once the student is approved for participation in the ESA program.
- The ESA program will review the student’s most recent individualized education program (IEP) to calculate how much to award to the student’s ESA. Parents should request in writing that the school district with their student’s IEP submit it to the ESA program as soon as possible. For funding purposes, the ESA program must receive the IEP from the district.
- If the IEP is older than one year or if the student has never had an IEP, the student’s parent may request that the school district where the student lives conduct a full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE) and propose an IEP for the purpose of the ESA program calculating the amount to award to the student’s ESA. The student does not need to enroll in the district to submit the FIIE request.
- A student who would only receive a Section 504 plan if he or she were enrolled in public school does not qualify for a larger ESA. Such a student is funded at the level of general participants in the ESA program.
ESA Lottery Preference for Students with Disabilities
SB 2 establishes a lottery system for selecting participants in the ESA program. If there are more applicants for an ESA than the program can accept on an annual basis, the ESA program will utilize a lottery system to select new participants.
- The ESA lottery system grants preference to children with a disability who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
- To establish that your child has a disability for the purpose of the program’s lottery, parents must submit one of three documents with their ESA application. One of the following will be considered by the program for granting lottery preference: an ESA program Disability Certification Form (PDF), an FIIE report, or an IEP.
For more information on education for students with disabilities, visit our Education resources page.
Last updated: January 26, 2026
Publication Code: ED51
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Disclaimer: Disability Rights Texas strives to update its materials on an annual basis, and this handout is based upon the law at the time it was written. The law changes frequently and is subject to various interpretations by different courts. Future changes in the law may make some information in this handout inaccurate.
The handout is not intended to and does not replace an attorney’s advice or assistance based on your particular situation.
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