Not sure whether to apply for Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA)?

This episode is for you. Crystal and Anthony Obey step back from the how-to and tackle the harder question: should your family apply at all?

Using a four-family framework drawn from real situations in their community, they walk through the genuine trade-offs of TEFA — financial support versus administrative responsibility, state funding versus long-term homeschool freedom, expanded resources versus constrained spending, and special considerations for families with children who have disabilities.

This isn't a pro-TEFA episode or an anti-TEFA episode. It's a clear-eyed, pressure-free space to work through the real questions only your family can answer — guided by five decision questions that cut through the noise of Facebook groups, headlines, and political opinions.

Download the free companion TFA Family Decision Worksheet from the show notes and walk away with genuine clarity — whatever direction you choose.

👉 FREE INTRO CLASS:  Get $30,000+/Yr to Fund Your Homeschool Without a 9-5 Job

In This Episode, You'll Discover:

1. What Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) actually requires of homeschool families — and what it doesn't
2. A four-family framework to help you identify exactly where you are in this decision right now
3. The four real trade-offs of TEFA: financial support, state relationship, spending constraints, and disability considerations
4. Five decision questions that cut through the noise and bring your family's values into focus
5. Why budgeting for homeschool families matters when evaluating if $2,000 per child is worth the administrative overhead
6. How to use the free TFA Family Decision Worksheet to make a clear, conscious choice

Perfect for You If:

1. You've been sitting with uncertainty about TEFA and haven't felt safe saying so
2. You want homeschool funding but aren't sure what strings come with it
3. You're weighing your family's long-term educational freedom against short-term financial relief
4. You have a child with a disability and need to understand the IDEA trade-off before deciding

We have spent the last several episodes

telling you how to apply for tifa, how

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to maximize your funding, how to navigate

the disability pathway, how to choose

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a school, how to manage your account.

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And today we wanna do something different.

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Today we wanna talk about whether you

should apply for the money at all,

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because here's what we know is happening

right now in Texas homeschool groups, at

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kitchen tables, in co-op parking lots,

in the text threads between parents.

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People are uncertain.

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And they feel like they can't say that

out loud because the conversation has

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been so loud, so fast, and so polarized

that there doesn't seem to be space for

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parents who just, who just aren't sure

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those parents are who this episode is for.

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We are not gonna tell

you that tifa is perfect.

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We're not gonna tell you that

you should be afraid of it.

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What we are going to do is walk

through the real considerations, the

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real offs, and the real questions

that only your family can answer.

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And give you a framework for making this

decision with clarity instead of noise.

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By the end of this episode, you will

have everything you need to make

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your own right decision, and we mean

yours, not the one a Facebook group

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or a news headline or a political

opinion told you was right Yours.

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A fast growing number of parents are

starting their homeschooling journey while

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others have been homeschooling for years.

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All of these parents are asking one big

question, how can I afford to homeschool?

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We are here to answer that

important question once and for all.

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Hi, I'm Crystal Obby.

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And I'm Anthony Obby.

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We've been homeschooling our five

kids for 13 years and we funded it.

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Through our online consulting business

that we've been running for over 17

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years now, we're combining Crystal's

financial coaching expertise with my

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digital marketing background where I help

entrepreneurs launch and sell online.

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We're here to help fellow homeschooling

parents self-fund their homeschool

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journey and create lifestyle businesses.

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For financial freedom without a nine to

five job, are you ready to start living

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life on your own terms and make your

homeschooling experience a lot more fun?

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Well then sit back, crank up

the volume, and enjoy this

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episode of Homeschool Money.

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Welcome to the Homeschool Money Podcast.

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I'm your host, Anthony Oby.

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I'm your host, crystal Oby.

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Before we get into the decision framework.

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Let's make sure we are talking about

the same thing, because a lot of the

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fear and a lot of the enthusiasm around

TA is based on things that are not

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actually in the program documents.

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So let's start with what is real.

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TFA is a voluntary program.

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You do not have to apply.

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If you apply and are selected,

you do not have to accept.

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Participation is your

choice at every step.

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For a homeschool family ati,

a account provides $2,000

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per eligible child per year.

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That money can be spent on curriculum

and instructional materials, tutoring

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and supplemental education services,

educational therapies and services.

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And technology.

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With technology capped at 10%

of the account, the money flows

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through a platform called Odyssey.

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What Tifa does not do, and this

matters is tell you how to homeschool.

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It does not prescribe a curriculum.

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It does not require your child to take

standardized tests as a condition of

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participation in the homeschool track.

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It does not require you to

report to a school district.

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The program does require you to

share assessment results if a

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required assessment is administered,

but the program's accountability

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requirements for homeschool families

are considerably lighter than

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for private school participants.

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What it does require is that you

agree to use funds only for qualified

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educational expenses, that you notify

the program within 30 business days.

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If your child's eligibility status

changes and that you understand

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your account may be audited.

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Those are the real strings,

not imaginary ones.

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Now here's a grounding fact.

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The TFA participant handbook,

which will be released to approved

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families, will contain the complete

and official list of eligible

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expenses and program requirements.

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Everything in this episode is drawn

from official program documents

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from the Texas Comptroller's office.

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Read your handbook when it arrives.

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We want to introduce you to four families.

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These are not real people, but they

represent real situations that we have

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heard from parents in our community.

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See which one resonates with

where you actually are right now.

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Family one the clear.

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Yes.

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This family has been

homeschooling for several years.

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They spend 3000 to $5,000 a year

on curriculum outside classes.

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Tutoring and educational resources,

they're confident in their approach.

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They know what they need, and $2,000

in state funded support for those same

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expenses is straightforwardly useful.

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They have no significance concerns

about accountability because they

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already keep good records of what

they spend and why for this family,

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the decision is not complicated.

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If you are family one, our episodes

on how to apply and maximize your

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account are your best resources.

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The decision is made, the

work is just execution.

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Alright, so let's talk about family

number two, the thoughtful estimator.

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This family is genuinely

interested in the funding.

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But they have real questions they haven't

been able to get honest answers to.

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They worry about what accepting

state money might mean for their

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educational freedom long term.

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They have heard things, they've

heard things, some accurate, some

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not about TFA requirements, and

they aren't sure what to believe.

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They're not opposed to the program,

but they wanna make the right decision

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with clear eyes, not enthusiasm or fear

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Hey, real quick, if you're liking the

show, hit follow so you don't miss a

104

single episode and drop a five star

rating and a review to let us know that

105

you're loving the content and tell us

what topics you'd like us to cover.

106

This will help more people find

the show, and please share this

107

episode with a friend, your

co-op, or anyone who needs it.

108

They'll be glad you did.

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Now, back to the show.

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If you are family too.

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This episode is made for you

and we want to say directly.

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Your caution is not paranoia.

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The questions you are asking are the

right questions, let's work through them.

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Three.

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The financial decision.

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This family is not ideologically

conflicted about tifa.

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Their question is simpler

and more practical.

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It's $2,000 worth of time.

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The application process and

the administrative overhead of

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managing an Odyssey account.

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They're busy.

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They already have a system.

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They're wondering if this is

more hassle than is worth for

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their particular situation.

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If you're family.

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Three, we respect that framing

completely and we have a practical

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answer for you in just a few minutes.

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Let's talk about family four.

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The deeper question for this

family, the TFA question is actually

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a symptom of a bigger question

they haven't fully answered yet.

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What kind of education do they

really want for their child, and is

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homeschooling actually the right path?

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TFA has forced this

conversation to the surface.

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They may be wondering if public

schools still makes sense.

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They're using this moment to reconsider,

not just to decide on a program.

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If you are family four good.

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That is the right

conversation to be having.

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Antifa is actually a useful lens

for it because the program forces

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you to name your educational

setting and commit to it for a year.

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That clarity, uncomfortable

as it can be, is a gift.

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Now let's talk about the actual

trade-offs, not the ones being amplified

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for political reasons on either side.

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The real ones that a thoughtful

parent should weigh trade off.

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Number one, financial support versus

administrative responsibility.

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The benefit is real.

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$2,000 per child for curriculum,

tutoring, therapies, and technology.

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For a family with two homeschool

kids, that is $4,000 in annual

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support that did not exist before.

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That is meaningful.

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The cost is real too.

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You are agreeing to manage a spending

account through a specific platform.

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You are agreeing to keep

records that can be audited.

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You are agreeing to purchase eligible

items through an approved marketplace.

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Rather than wherever is

cheapest or most convenient.

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For some families, this is a

minor adjustment For others,

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it is a genuine friction point.

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Honest assessment.

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If you're already an organized family

who tracks educational expenses, the

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administrative burden of tifa is low.

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If you prefer maximum flexibility

and minimum documentation.

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The overhead is real

and worth factoring in.

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Honestly.

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Trade Off Two.

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State Funding versus State Relationship.

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This is the one that matters most

to the Thoughtful Estimator, and

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we want to address it direct.

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Accepting TFA funding does create a

formal relationship between your family

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and the Texas Comptroller's office.

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Your participation is documented.

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Your spending is trackable.

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You have agreed to a set of program rules.

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What that relationship does not include,

at least in the current program rules,

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is curriculum approval, instructional

oversight, or mandatory standardized

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testing for homeschool participants.

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The program.

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Accountability for homeschool families

in year one is primarily financial.

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The legitimate concern is about

trajectory, not current rules.

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Programs evolve the

accountability requirements.

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That exist today are not

necessarily the ones that will

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exist in year three or five.

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Families who care deeply about

long-term homeschool independence

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are right to think about that.

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That concern is not irrational.

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It is the appropriate concern of

people who have built something

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valuable and want to protect it.

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And here's the real question.

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Are you comfortable being a

participant in a state administered

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program with whatever that may come

to mean as the program evolves.

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That is a values question, not a factual

one, and only your family can answer it.

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Trade off.

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Three, expanded resources

versus constrained spending.

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TF of funding can only be

spent on approved categories

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through the approved platform.

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That means you cannot use

it on a vendor who is not.

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Registered in Odyssey, you cannot

use it on a family road trip that

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you frame as educational travel.

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You cannot use it on general

household expenses, even if your

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child learns something from them.

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For families whose educational

approach is highly structured and whose

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spending already falls neatly into

curriculum tutoring and therapies,

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this constraint is barely noticeable.

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For families whose homeschooling is

more experiential, fluid and hard

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to categorize, the constraint may

mean the funding isn't as useful

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as the dollar amount suggests.

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Trade off four.

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For families with a

child with a disability.

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A special consideration we

covered this in episode three,

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but it bears repeating here.

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If your child receives special education

services through a public school and you

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move to Tifa, you are stepping away from

the legal protections of the individuals

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with Disabilities Education Act.

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The private school or homeschool

setting you move to is not

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bound by the same obligations.

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For some families, the specialized private

school or the flexibility of homeschooling

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with TFA funded therapies will be a

far better outcome for their child than

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what the public school was providing.

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For others, the legal protections

and mandated services of the public

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system are more valuable than

the funding flexibility of tifa.

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This is not a universal answer,

it is a child specific answer.

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Here's the right question.

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Not is tepa good for kids

with disabilities, but.

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Given my specific child's specific

needs, does the TFA pathway

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produce better outcomes than

the path we are currently on?

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Those are very different questions.

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We have a companion worksheet for this

episode that you can download and print.

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It's called the TFA Family Decision

Worksheet, and it walks you through

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exactly this section in a format

you can work through with your

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co-parent, spouse, or on your own.

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Find it in the show notes.

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But let's walk through the core

questions here together, because

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even just hearing them out loud

may clarify something for you.

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Question one, what does $2,000

per child actually mean for

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our family's budget right now?

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Not in theory, in practice.

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Does it change something real?

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Does it make something possible

that's not currently possible?

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Question two, how do we currently feel

about our relationship with the state of

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Texas regarding our children's education?

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Are we comfortable with a formal

documented program relationship?

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Or does that feel like a line

we have chosen not to cross?

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Question three, is our educational

approach compatible with TFAs

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eligible expense categories?

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If we spent our $2,000 on

the things that are approved.

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Would that money go towards things

we were already gonna buy anyway?

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Or would we be shaping our

approach to fit the funding,

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question four, what does the

administrative overhead of this

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program actually cost us in time?

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And is that a fair trade

for the financial benefit?

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And question five, the most important one.

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If this program changes in three years

and becomes more prescriptive, more

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accountable, more connected to state

standards, how will we feel about

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having started that relationship?

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And.

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Are we comfortable navigating that

evolution or does the uncertainty

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itself feel like too high a cost?

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There is no wrong answer

to any of these questions.

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There is only your answer, and the family

that makes this decision consciously

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with their eyes open is going to be

far better positioned than the family

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that drifts into it or away from it

without really thinking it through.

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We want to close with something that we

mean completely sincerely, whether you

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apply for TFA or not, we are here for you.

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Whether you are a homeschool family,

a private school family, a family

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who was switching from public school

for the first time, or a family

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who was watching all of this from a

distance and still figuring it out.

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This podcast is for you.

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Our goal is to be a voice that helps Texas

parents navigate whatever is happening in

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education right now with clarity, honesty,

and enough information to make genuinely

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good decisions for their specific child.

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That is the goal that does not change

based on which way this program goes.

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So here's what we want you to do.

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Download the tip of family decision

worksheet from the show notes.

272

Sit down with it, answer the questions

honestly, and then make your decision

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whatever it is from a place of clarity,

274

And then share this episode with

someone who is in the same place

275

you were when you pressed play.

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Because the parent who is sitting

with uncertainty right now, feeling

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like they can't say that out loud,

needs to hear that there is a place

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where that uncertainty is welcome.

279

That place is here.

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Subscribe, follow, and come back.

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Because whatever happens with TFA in

year one is going to create a whole

282

new set of questions in year two,

and we will be here for those two.

283

Thank you for listening.

284

If you like today's episode, make

sure you tap the follow button so you

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never miss a thing, and if it help

you share it with a friend or your

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