The Comptroller's tuition guidelines bar a participating school from charging TEFA families more than anyone else, and they require general discounts such as sibling, staff and parishioner rates to continue. A school is allowed to take the award into account when it sizes need-based aid.
Aid matters most in Dallas at the top of the price range. D Magazine reported in August that one family's learning-differences school charged $33,375 in tuition plus a $4,850 enrollment fee and offered no first-year aid, leaving a large gap even with an IEP-boosted account.
Before you commit, get three answers in writing: whether the school is in TEFA this year, which of its fees the account can pay, and what aid it offers on the remaining balance.
Combining it with other sources
Few Dallas families pay with one source alone. This one generally stacks with a school's own discounts and need-based aid and with at least one other source on our funding list, and the funding check lays out the combination that fits your child.