1. (a) A child is eligible to participate in the program if, during program participation:

   1. (1) the child is eligible to either attend a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, under Education Code, §25.001, or a free prekindergarten program offered by a public school or open-enrollment charter school to certain children under Education Code, §29.153;
   2. (2) the child is not enrolled in a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, or a prekindergarten program of a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school;
   3. (3) the child is a citizen or national of the United States or has been lawfully admitted to the United States;
   4. (4) the child has not been declared ineligible for the program under Education Code, §29.364; and
   5. (5) the child has not graduated from high school.

2. (b) To apply for participation in the program, the child's parent must submit a comptroller-approved application to the designated certified educational assistance organization during the application period. The application must be accompanied by:

   1. (1) authorization to allow electronic verification that, or documentary proof that the child is a citizen or national of the United States or was lawfully admitted into the United States, including being a legal permanent resident, in a format acceptable to the comptroller and subject to verification by the comptroller, such as a copy of one of the following for the child: a birth certificate issued in the United States or one of its territories, a certificate of United States naturalization, a certificate of United States citizenship, a United States Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a United States passport, a Legal Permanent Resident Card, an order or judicial decision issued from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, or other documentation issued by the Department of Homeland Security affirming lawful admission;
   2. (2) authorization to allow electronic verification of, or documentary proof of the child's current residency in this state as established by one of the following documents specified under Education Code, §29.355(a-1): a utility bill, lease or mortgage statement, driver's license or state identification card, voter registration card, letter from a government agency in the United States, or notarized affidavit of residency;
   3. (3) authorization to allow electronic verification of, or documentary proof of, total annual income, such as an Internal Revenue Service transcript of a federal tax return, Texas Workforce Commission data, the most recently filed federal tax returns or other documentation requested by the program to determine and verify total annual income;

   4. (4) an agreement and certification under penalty of perjury by the participating parent that they will:

      1. (A) only request the payment of program money for approved education-related expenses under Education Code, §29.359;
      2. (B) not attempt to withdraw cash or seek reimbursement from the child's account;
      3. (C) refrain from selling items purchased with program money;
      4. (D) for a participating child in grades 3 through 12 enrolled in a private school that is an approved education service provider, provide or authorize and instruct the administrator of assessment instrument administered to a child under Education Code, §29.358, to provide the results of such assessment to the certified educational assistance organization responsible for that child by the end of the program year during which the assessment is administered;
      5. (E) comply with the audits requirements under Education Code, §29.363, by providing to a private entity under contract with the comptroller or to the state auditor any information or documentation related to a program transaction; and
      6. (F) no later than 30 calendar days from the date the child enrolls in a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, or otherwise becomes ineligible to participate in the program, provide written notification to the program in a comptroller-approved format and will cease requesting distributions from the child's account for any expense incurred on and after the date the child is no longer eligible to participate in the program;

   5. (5) for a child to be considered a child with a disability for purposes of prioritization under Education Code, §29.356:

      1. (A) proof of eligibility to participate in a school district's special education program under Education Code, §29.003, by meeting an eligibility definition described by 19 TAC §89.1040 that is submitted in a comptroller-prescribed format and signed by one or more licensed professionals qualified to attest that the child meets the applicable eligibility definition, for a child moving to this state from another state, submitted in the form of an individualized education program created by a school district in another state for that child and verified by that state or school district, or submitted in the form of a full individual and initial evaluation of the child conducted by a school district under Education Code §29.004; or
      2. (B) authorization to verify with the agency that an individualized education program has been issued by a school district or open-enrollment charter school for the child; and

   6. (6) for a child to be considered eligible to enroll in a school district's or open-enrollment charter school's prekindergarten program under Education Code, §29.153, authorization to allow electronic verification that, or documentary proof that, the child will be between 3 and 5 years of age on September 1 of the following school year and:

      1. (A) is unable to speak and comprehend the English language;
      2. (B) is educationally disadvantaged as defined by Education Code, §5.001(4);
      3. (C) is homeless, regardless of the residence of the child, of either parent of the child, or of the child's guardian or other person having lawful control of the child;
      4. (D) is the child of an active-duty member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active duty by proper authority;
      5. (E) is the child of a member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving on active duty;
      6. (F) is or ever has been in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing held as provided by Family Code, §262.201, or foster care in another state or territory, if the child resides in this state;
      7. (G) is the child of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award as a peace officer under Government Code, §3106.002, a firefighter under Government Code, §3106.003, or an emergency medical first responder under Government Code, §3106.004; or
      8. (H) is the child of a person employed as a classroom teacher at a public primary or secondary school in the school district that offers a prekindergarten class under Education Code, §29.153.
3. (c) For the purpose of calculating the amount to be transferred to the account of a child with a disability under Education Code, §29.361, the applicant must submit authorization to verify with the agency that an individualized education program has been issued by a school district for the child. The program may establish a deadline for verification of an individualized education program with the agency for the purpose of calculating funding under Education Code, §29.361(a)(2), and the deadline may be as early as practicable to efficiently determine funding amounts for children accepted into the program.
4. (d) A participating parent is not required to reapply, but must be in good standing and provide notice in a comptroller-approved format to a designated certified educational assistance organization during the application period if the parent intends for their participating child to continue to participate in the program the following program year. To the extent there are available positions, such a child shall be admitted to the program for the following program year prior to the approval of applications under subsection (f) of this section.
5. (e) Information shared with a certified educational assistance organization by the agency, a school district, or an open-enrollment charter school to determine a child's eligibility to participate in the program, including a child's public school enrollment status and whether the child can be counted toward a public school's average daily attendance for purposes of the allocation of funding under the foundation school program, shall be held consistent with all applicable federal and state confidentiality and privacy requirements, shall not be sold or otherwise distributed, and shall not be retained beyond the period necessary to determine a child's eligibility.

6. (f) Acceptable applications for admission to the program received during an application period shall, at the direction of the comptroller, be:

   1. (1) separated into the following categories:

      1. (A) siblings of participating children;
      2. (B) children to whom subparagraph (C) of this paragraph does not apply; and
      3. (C) children who previously ceased participation in the program by enrolling in a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school;

   2. (2) separated within each group established under paragraph (1) of this subsection into the following subcategories as described by Education Code, §29.356(b)(2):

      1. (A) children with a disability who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or below 500% of the federal poverty guidelines;
      2. (B) children who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines;
      3. (C) children who are members of a household with a total annual income that is above 200% of the federal poverty guidelines and below 500 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and
      4. (D) children who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or above 500% of the federal poverty guidelines;
   3. (3) sequentially ordered by lottery within each resulting subcategory if more eligible applications are received than available slots during an application period, with siblings applying during the same application period being considered together in the first subcategory for which one of the siblings qualifies;
   4. (4) subject to Education Code, §29.3521(d), which limits admission of children under paragraph (2)(D) of this subsection to 20% of the amount appropriated for the school year, approved for admission to the program in the order established under paragraph (3) of this subsection until available funds calculated under §16.407(a) of this subchapter have been exhausted based on the total annual amount calculated under Education Code, §29.361, for each child admitted; and
   5. (5) to the extent not approved for admission under paragraph (4) of this subsection, placed on a waiting list in the order established under paragraph (3) of this subsection.

7. (g) Subject to Education Code, §29.3521(d), which limits admission of children under subsection (f)(2)(D) of this section to 20% of the amount appropriated for the school year, if additional funds become available, applications for children on the waiting list may be approved for admission to the program in the order established under subsection (f)(5) of this section, with funding of the child's account to be prorated for the remaining months of the program year beginning on the first day of the month following the month of approval. When implementing waiting list admissions, and after considering relevant factors including enabling program participation, administrative complexity, costs, and delays, the program may:

   1. (1) determine time periods for waiting list admissions;
   2. (2) provide reasonable deadlines for applicant response and enrollment; and
   3. (3) for each new application period, determine what information from the previously-submitted application must be updated and confirmed.
8. (h) As soon as practicable after making a waiting list implementation determination under subsection (g) of this section, the program must post the determination on the program's internet website and add the information to the next handbook publication.

Source Note:The provisions of this §16.403 adopted to be effective December 15, 2025, 50 TexReg 8046.