Finding a TEFA therapist in El Paso: the 10 approved providers, IEP amounts and how your child's therapist can join

For many El Paso families, the hardest part of using a TEFA account for therapy isn't the money. It's finding someone to pay. A child's speech therapist may have a waiting list, the ABA clinic across town may not be in the program, and the state's marketplace search can come back with only a handful of names. El Paso isn't alone: on October 8, KTXS reported on Abilene parents with funded accounts who couldn't find enough local providers on the state portal. Here is what the El Paso list looks like right now, how much an account can carry for a child with an IEP, and how a therapist your child already sees can apply to join.

What the El Paso list looks like

When we last pulled the Comptroller's provider list on October 12, it included 31 approved providers with an El Paso-area address. Ten were therapy providers. By specialty, five list speech therapy, three occupational therapy, three autism support and three behavioral services, and two list physical therapy. Some providers cover more than one area. Desert Star Therapy lists the broadest range, from speech and occupational therapy to dyslexia and ADHD support, and is the only therapy provider on the local list marked as also offering services online. Bilingual Speech Therapy of El Paso evaluates and treats children in both English and Spanish, which matters for many families here. Sun City Music Therapy and The Talk Shop, a counseling center, are also on it. The full set, with phone numbers, is on our approved therapists page.

The other 21 providers are mostly tutoring centers, uniform and supply vendors, enrichment programs and homeschool curriculum. That's a modest list for a county of El Paso's size, and it means planning ahead.

How much an account can carry

A private school student without an IEP received $10,474 for 2026-27. With a qualifying IEP on file, the account adds the amount the local district would have spent on the services in that IEP, up to a $30,000 total. Using the Comptroller's 2026-27 special education funding table, the totals for a student whose IEP places them in general-education classes with support (instructional code 40) are:

El Paso ISD: $16,714, or $17,618 when speech therapy is added
Ysleta ISD: $16,974, or $17,915 with speech
Socorro ISD: $16,942, or $17,879 with speech

A speech-only IEP (code 00) in El Paso ISD comes to $11,378. Other codes and districts are on our IEP amounts by district page. Two limits apply. The IEP amount is paid only at a participating private school or pre-K provider; a homeschool student with an IEP receives $2,000. And therapy qualifies only when Medicaid, another government benefit or private insurance doesn't already cover it, so check your plan before you pay from the account.

Paying a therapist through the account

Every payment runs through Odyssey, the state's platform. You can't pay a provider outside the system and claim the money back, and a provider who isn't approved can't be paid at all. For private school students, the account is funded in installments; the next 50% of the 2026-27 award is scheduled for February 1, 2027. If you've already spent most of the fall installment on tuition, a weekly therapy plan may have to wait for that deposit, so map out the spring before you commit.

If your child's therapist isn't on the list

This is the step most El Paso parents don't know about: the program takes provider applications on a rolling basis, so a therapist can apply at any time. The Comptroller's office and Odyssey review each application before the provider appears in the marketplace. Under Odyssey's published requirements, a therapist (occupational, speech, behavioral or physical) needs:

A U.S.-based business entity registered with the Texas Secretary of State, shown by a Certificate of Fact, Certificate of Formation or Certificate of Filing.
Good standing with the Comptroller on franchise taxes, if the business owes them.
A copy of the therapist's professional license.
A fingerprint background check dated within the 30 days before applying.

Providers already approved for the Texas Education Agency's Parent-Directed Special Education Services program are approved for TEFA while they stay in good standing with TEA and registered with the Secretary of State. Applications start from the vendor link at tefa-vendors.withodyssey.com.

A practical approach is to print the requirements and hand them to the clinic's office manager. Because the fingerprint check has to be less than 30 days old, the clinic should book it shortly before it applies.

Questions to ask before you book

Is the practice approved in the TEFA marketplace, under the same business name that appears on your invoices?
Will it bill your insurance or Medicaid first, and charge the account only for what those don't cover?
Can sessions happen at your child's school, and does the school allow outside therapists on campus?
Does the therapist offer sessions in Spanish, if that's your child's stronger language?
What is the wait for an evaluation, and how often does the practice update goals?

Where to go from here

If your child has autism or a behavioral diagnosis, our autism and behavioral support guide covers schools and services in the area. For the full list of what an account can buy, see what TEFA pays for. And if you're still deciding how to combine TEFA with school aid and other help, start the funding check. An advisor can walk through it with you in English or Spanish.

Sources

See what your family qualifies for →