TEFA-Approved Online Schools: How to Find One and What to Check

If your family has a TEFA award, or you're in the process of applying, the next question is straightforward: which schools actually accept it, and how do you know if any of them are worth your child's time?

TEFA is Texas's education savings account program. It lets families use state funds to pay tuition at an approved private school. For families who receive an award, it can cover the full cost of a private online school. But the list of schools that accept TEFA is long, and acceptance of the funding tells you almost nothing about the quality of the school.

What does TEFA-approved actually mean?

A TEFA-approved school is one that has been accepted into the program and is eligible to receive tuition payments from a family's TEFA account. It means the school met the state's participation requirements. It does not mean the school was evaluated for academic quality, teacher involvement, or student outcomes.

In other words, TEFA approval is a funding designation, not an endorsement. The same way a store can accept a gift card without being a great store, a school can accept TEFA without being a strong academic program.

How do you find TEFA-eligible private online schools?

The Texas Education Agency maintains a list of schools participating in the TEFA program. Families can search that list through the TEFA portal to find schools that have registered to accept awards. When you search, you can filter by school type, including private virtual schools.

Once you have a list of schools that accept TEFA, the real work begins: figuring out which ones are worth considering.

What should you check before choosing a school?

The questions below are worth asking about any TEFA-eligible school, not just Novatio.

Is the school accredited?

Accreditation from a recognized body means the school has been independently reviewed for academic standards, curriculum, and operational quality. For private schools, look for accreditation from Cognia, the most widely recognized accrediting body for K-12 schools. A school without accreditation has not been evaluated by anyone outside its own walls.

Novatio is Cognia-accredited. That accreditation covers its academic program, teacher qualifications, and school operations.

Are there certified teachers involved?

Some online schools are built around videos and software, with little to no direct teacher contact. Others have certified teachers actively involved in instruction, monitoring, and support. The distinction matters enormously, especially if your child ever gets stuck or needs more than a platform can offer.

Ask any school you're considering: what does a teacher actually do for my child each day? If the answer is vague, that's worth paying attention to.

At Novatio, certified teachers provide direct guidance, academic intervention, and progress monitoring throughout the school day. Students aren't left alone with software when they run into something difficult.

How is the curriculum structured?

Look for a school that can explain specifically how students are placed, how they progress, and what happens when a student is behind in one subject but ahead in another. A school that places every student at their enrolled grade level regardless of their actual skills is not personalizing anything.

Novatio's curriculum uses mastery-based progression, which means students move forward after demonstrating understanding rather than after a set number of weeks. AI works behind the scenes to place students at the appropriate level in each subject and adjust their learning path based on ongoing assessment data. A student can be working on different levels in different subjects at the same time.

What does a typical school day look like?

A structured school day matters for online learning. Ask whether students follow a live schedule, when instruction happens, and how afternoon time is used.

At Novatio, students complete approximately two hours of focused, personalized academics each morning across five core subjects: Language, Reading, Math, Social Studies, and Science. Afternoons are built around live clubs where students work on real projects with teacher coaching.

What's the actual tuition, and does TEFA cover it in full?

Not every private school's tuition falls within what a TEFA award covers. Confirm the exact tuition before you complete enrollment.

Novatio's Texas tuition is $8,500 per school year. For students who receive a TEFA award, TEFA can cover that tuition in full.

Important: receiving a TEFA award and being accepted to Novatio are two separate things. Novatio accepts students without academic entry requirements — there's no grade threshold or test score required for admission. But TEFA funding is not universally awarded. You need to receive your TEFA award through the state process before using it to pay tuition at any school.

What about academic results?

Anyone can claim their school produces results. Ask what evidence they can point to.

NWEA MAP assessments are one of the most widely used independent measures of academic growth in K-12 education. NWEA MAP data from Novatio's first cohort showed that students learned 4.6 times faster than expected during the measured period. That's a specific result from a specific measurement, not a general claim. Individual results vary, and no school can guarantee any particular outcome for every student.

One individual example: a Novatio student moved from the 8th to the 80th percentile in reading over one year, based on NWEA MAP scores. That's one student's experience, not a promised outcome. But it reflects what the model is designed to make possible when a student is placed accurately and progresses at their own pace.

Who is Novatio a good fit for?

Novatio serves students in grades 2 through 8. It tends to work well for families whose children are uneven learners, students who've accumulated gaps in one subject while being ready for more challenge in another, and students who need a more predictable and lower-friction school day.

It may not be the right fit for students who need in-person social environments, families who prefer a completely self-directed homeschool approach, or students who need clinical or therapeutic services that go beyond academic support.

If your child has an IEP or 504, Novatio offers an optional Special Education Support Program that includes services such as case management, executive-function coaching, and targeted academic support. Additional support services carry an additional cost; for students with an IEP or 504, those additional costs are covered by the state.

How do you get started?

If you already have a TEFA award, the process is: select Novatio through the TEFA portal, then complete Novatio's enrollment requirements. If you haven't applied for TEFA yet, start there first through the Texas Education Agency's TEFA program, then choose your school.

If you want to talk through whether Novatio is the right fit before you commit to anything, you can book a 1:1 admissions call with Karissa. There's no application fee and no academic bar to clear for admission. The call is a way to get your specific questions answered.

Finding a TEFA-approved school isn't hard. Finding one that's worth choosing takes a few more questions. Accreditation, teacher involvement, how the curriculum actually works, and what the evidence shows are the things that separate a solid program from one that just accepts the funding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every online school accept TEFA?

No. Schools must register with the state to participate in the TEFA program. You can search the list of participating schools through the TEA's TEFA portal. Being on that list means a school accepts the funding, not that it has been evaluated for academic quality.

Can TEFA cover the full cost of Novatio?

For students who receive a TEFA award, TEFA can cover Novatio's $8,500 annual Texas tuition in full. Novatio acceptance and TEFA approval are separate processes. You need to receive your award through the state before applying it to tuition.

Does Novatio have academic requirements for admission?

No. Novatio accepts students without academic entry requirements. There's no grade cutoff, test score, or prior school performance standard. All applicants to Novatio are accepted. TEFA funding is a separate state process with its own eligibility requirements.

What happens if my child has an IEP or 504?

Novatio offers an optional Special Education Support Program that can include case management, executive-function coaching, and targeted academic support. Additional support services carry an additional cost. For students with an IEP or 504, those additional costs are covered by the state. Contact Novatio's admissions team to discuss your child's specific needs.

What grades does Novatio serve?

Novatio serves students in grades 2 through 8. If your child is outside that range, you'll need to find a different TEFA-eligible school for their grade level.