Independent & Secular Schools · Buda, Kyle, San Marcos & Lockhart

Ladybird Montessori School

Independent & Secular School for grades PK-9 in Buda. In the TEFA finder. Scroll down for funding that fits, the public record, and questions worth asking on a tour.

Where this comes from. TEFA status here reflects the Texas Education Freedom Accounts participating-school finder (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts) as of October 12, 2026. Enrollment, grades and affiliation come from the NCES Private School Survey (U.S. Department of Education). Neither source publishes tuition, so confirm current tuition and fees directly with the school.

How families pay here

$10,474
TEFA private-school award, 2026-27. It's the same at every grade served here (PK-9).
$15,839 to $16,949
Typical TEFA total with an IEP for a Hays CISD resident (resource/self-contained to mainstream)
$104,740
What the account adds up to over 10 years, kindergarten through grade 9, at the 2026-27 amount

Ladybird Montessori School was listed in the Texas Comptroller's TEFA finder when we checked on October 12, 2026, so a student with an Education Freedom Account can use it here. For 2026-27 the account sends $10,474 per student, deposited in three parts: 25% on July 1, 25% on October 1 and the final 50% on February 1.

This school also enrolls pre-K children. TEFA funds 3- and 4-year-olds who meet a state free pre-K criterion, such as qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, limited English, or a parent who teaches in a Texas public school. Kindergarten has no such test, so a child can continue here on the full award.

Independent schools award their own need-based aid. They may consider a TEFA award when they set that aid, but they can't charge a TEFA family a higher tuition than anyone else.

Check my funding for this school →

“We are an American Montessori Society (AMS) accredited and verified private school located on 14-cares with a working farm, STEAM Maker-space building, athletic pavilion, and numerous opportunities for project-base learning. We serve children from infant-high school.”
The school's description in the TEFA finder

Its 2023-24 answers to the federal Private School Survey showed 73 K-12 students, 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, a 7.3:1 student-teacher ratio and a 180-day school year.

Programs reported to the state

STEM/STEAMProject-Based LearningMontessoriVocational/Career TechSummer School ProgramsAfter-School Academic HelpOccupational TherapySpeech TherapyOne-on-One TutoringArts Programs (Visual, Music, Drama, Dance)Clubs & ActivitiesRobotics/CodingSports ProgramsDebate/SpeechStudent PublicationsField Trips & Travel OpportunitiesBefore School ProgramsAfter School ProgramsCharacter EducationCommunity Service FocusEnvironmental/Outdoor FocusSocial-Emotional LearningDemocratic/Student-Led GovernanceTechnology Access

Discounts reported to TEFA: Scholarships Available, Sibling Discounts.

Associations (federal survey): American Montessori Society.

What to ask on your tour

  1. Is the school in the TEFA finder now, and will it take part in 2027-28?
  2. Does billing follow the state's July, October and February deposits, or is a deposit due from us first?
  3. Which fees, such as books, uniforms or lunch, can be charged to the account?
  4. What aid, sibling or church-member pricing is available for any balance?
  5. Are you an approved TEFA pre-K provider, and do you take child care assistance for after-care?

After grade 9: nearby schools that continue

Ladybird Montessori School ends at grade 9. These schools serve grade 10 through 12 and are among the closest:

Nearby schools with full profiles

IEP funding for nearby districts

Home districtTEFA-funded students (Jul 29, 2026)IEP: speech only (00)IEP: mainstream (40)IEP: resource / self-contained (41-44)IEP: residential facility (81-89)
Hays CISD441$11,412$16,949$15,839$25,957
San Marcos CISD165$11,408$16,918$15,814$25,883
Lockhart ISD82$11,387$16,771$15,692$25,532
Luling ISDunder 30$11,614$18,030$17,247$29,526

Totals are the $10,474 base plus the district add-on from the Comptroller's 2026-27 Special Education Funding Table, capped at $30,000. Funded counts come from the TEFA Annual Demographic Report (data as of July 29, 2026); districts with fewer than 30 participants aren't listed in that report. All Austin-area districts →

We list 12 K-12 private schools in Buda, Kyle, San Marcos & Lockhart, and 8 of them were in the TEFA finder.

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