Catholic school in the Diocese of Austin with TEFA: Beacon of Hope, FACTS and the rest of the aid

For Catholic families in Central Texas, paying for school used to mean one long FACTS application and a lot of hoping. This year there are more pieces on the table: a state account worth $10,474, a diocesan scholarship called Beacon of Hope, a handful of smaller funds, and parish discounts that the state says must keep applying. The pieces don't come with one set of instructions, so here's how they fit together for a family in Travis, Williamson or Hays County.

The Diocese of Austin's school system

The Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Austin reported 19 schools, from pre-K through grade 12, and more than 5,200 students in a September 2025 release. The diocese stretches well beyond the Austin metro, from West in the north to Buda in the south and from the Bryan-College Station area to Killeen. Within the five counties we cover, the parish and Catholic schools include St. Louis, St. Theresa, St. Austin, St. Ignatius Martyr and the Cathedral School of St. Mary in Austin, Holy Family and St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School in the Avery Ranch area, Santa Cruz in Buda, St. Helen in Georgetown and St. Mary's in Taylor. San Juan Diego Catholic High School and St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School also serve Austin families.

In November 2025 the diocese's superintendent of Catholic schools, Misty Poe, published a column under the campaign title "Catholic Schools: Your Choice, Their Future," introducing families to TEFA as a way to choose Catholic education. The schools office now lists TEFA on its affordability page.

Which Catholic schools were in the finder

When we pulled the state's participating-school finder on October 11, every Catholic school named above was listed. One notable exception was St. Gabriel's Catholic School in West Austin, which reported 873 students to the federal Private School Survey. We didn't find it in the finder under that name. If St. Gabriel's is on your list, ask the school directly about its plans. Our Catholic schools page shows each school's finder status and what it reported to the federal survey.

Layer one: TEFA

A student at a participating Catholic school is funded at $10,474 for 2026-27, deposited in three installments: 25% on July 1, 25% on October 1 and 50% on February 1. Neither the state nor the federal survey publishes tuition, so check each school's current rates. At many parish K-8 schools, the account covers most of the bill. At the high schools, tuition is usually higher than the award, so expect a balance.

If your child has an IEP on file with TEA, the account rises with a district add-on. A mainstream-setting IEP totals $16,779 for an Austin ISD resident, $17,066 in Leander ISD and $16,949 in Hays CISD. The district table lists every local district.

Layer two: parish and sibling pricing

Under the Comptroller's tuition guidelines, a school has to charge TEFA families the same tuition as everyone else and keep honoring its general discounts. That includes parishioner rates and multi-child discounts. If your parish school offers a registered-parishioner rate, a TEFA family still gets it. A school may, however, consider the TEFA award when it decides need-based aid.

Layer three: Beacon of Hope

Beacon of Hope is the diocese's own need-based scholarship. It is funded by the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Austin through an endowment created in the Encountering Christ Campaign, and it provides partial tuition help to families whose children attend a Catholic school inside the diocese.

Families apply through FACTS Grant & Aid and select "Beacon of Hope - Diocesan Scholarship Program" as an organization. One diocesan school's page lists the window as January 1 to March 1, notes that awards cover one year and must be reapplied for, and says the diocese pays the school directly after confirming fall enrollment. The FACTS fee isn't waived for this program.

The diocese hasn't published how Beacon of Hope treats a family that also receives TEFA. Ask the principal or admissions director before you count on both. The more useful framing may be timing: if you're waitlisted for TEFA, Beacon of Hope and school aid are the first places to turn.

The smaller funds that add up

The diocese's Catholic schools office lists several other sources on its affordability page:

Saints & Scholars Gala: held every January and raising about $150,000 a year on average. There's no separate application. The money flows through school-level aid.
Catholic Foundation endowment income: about $115,000 a year for tuition assistance, again with no separate application.
ACE Scholarships: for new students at ACE partner schools, based on income, selected as an option on the FACTS application.
Folds of Honor: up to $5,000 a year for dependents of service members, with applications from February 1 to March 31.
Catholic Services Appeal scholarship contest: $1,000 for elementary and middle school winners and $2,000 for high school winners.
Parish Partnership Program: parish-sponsored aid in some parishes, including some in Central Austin. Ask your pastor.

The diocese says more than 36% of its school families already use some form of assistance.

Catholic high school: plan for the gap

TEFA pays the same in ninth grade as in first. For St. Dominic Savio, San Juan Diego or St. Michael's, the realistic plan combines the award with school aid and, if your child started younger, money rolled over from earlier years. Dual credit through Austin Community College can help too: ACC says it waives tuition and general fees on eligible dual credit courses for students who live in its service area, and the account can cover books. See our Catholic tuition guide for the full stack.

A sample timeline for 2027-28

Now: join the TEFA interest list and visit schools.
January: FACTS opens. Select Beacon of Hope and any school-specific aid. The Saints & Scholars Gala is held.
February 1 to March 31: Folds of Honor applications for military families.
By March 1: the Beacon of Hope deadline that diocesan schools have listed.
When the state announces dates: apply for TEFA. Siblings of current participants go first.

Our funding check will map these dates against your own children and schools.

Sources

See what your family qualifies for →