School uniforms and TEFA in Dallas: what the account covers, three ways to buy, and the audit rule

Plaid jumpers, navy polos, a blazer for Mass days, a separate P.E. kit. For a family starting at a Dallas parish or Christian school, the uniform list can add a few hundred dollars to the first month, and it comes back every August as children grow. If your child has a Texas Education Freedom Account, part of that bill can come out of the account. The rules are narrower than many parents expect, though, and the way you buy matters as much as what you buy.

What the Comptroller says counts

On July 28, 2026, the Comptroller's TEFA office published a policy on school uniforms. Required uniform pieces are eligible. The policy lists P.E. uniforms, shirts, pants, skirts, shorts, skorts, sweaters, jumpers, blazers, ties and belts. Items that aren't essential are not approved, and the policy names two examples: jewelry and letterman jackets.

The key word is required. A school's published dress code is your best evidence. If the handbook says a navy cardigan is optional, treat it as a personal purchase. Spirit shirts, game-day wear and booster-club merchandise sit in the same gray zone. When in doubt, pay for it yourself; it is cheaper than repaying the account later.

Three ways to buy

The policy allows three purchasing routes, and each fits a different kind of Dallas school.

1. Directly in the TEFA marketplace

Uniform vendors can list specific items in the program's marketplace, described by school, grade, gender, color and size. You order them the same way you'd buy a workbook, then have them shipped or pick them up in store. This works best when your school's uniform supplier has done the work of listing each piece.

2. Uniform credits

Some vendors sell credits in the marketplace in fixed amounts of $5, $10, $25, $50 or $100. You buy the credits with account funds and redeem them on the vendor's own website. The Comptroller asks parents to price their order first so the credit is used up. Its own example: if the uniforms come to $202.50 and the vendor sells only $25 credits, buy $200 in credits and pay the last $2.50 yourself. Carrying a partial balance or asking for a refund on credits is strictly prohibited. Credits aren't taxed in the marketplace, but the vendor charges sales tax on the uniforms.

3. Through the school

A school can buy uniforms from its vendor and charge the student's account in the Odyssey portal. You then approve that payment to the school in the portal. For a school that already stocks its own uniforms, this can be the simplest route, and it keeps the purchase tied to the school's own records.

Dallas uniform vendors already in the program

When we pulled the Comptroller's provider list for our six counties, it included more than a dozen businesses selling school uniforms or school apparel. Among them:

Risse Brothers School Uniforms in Addison, which supplies contracted schools
Verona Uniforms and Classroom Apparel Logotology, both in Richardson
Levines Stores in Oak Cliff
Jolt Printing & Embroidery in Wylie, which limits TEFA sales to items each school lists as uniforms in its online store
Aabideen in Plano and Athletica in Prosper
Versa Printing in Dallas, through its DressCode division
Sew Sew Embroiderie in Seagoville and Trinity Enterprise Group in Sunnyvale
Complete Logo Source in Midlothian, for Ellis County families

Being listed doesn't mean a vendor carries your school's pattern. Most uniform companies work under contracts with particular campuses, so start by asking your school office which supplier it uses, then check whether that supplier appears in the marketplace. Our curriculum and supplies directory lists the providers we track.

How this fits the rest of the account

Uniforms usually come out of what is left after tuition. For 2026-27 the private school award is $10,474. At a school whose tuition and required fees come in under that figure, the difference stays in the account for other approved expenses, including required uniforms, books and school-provided meals. At a school that costs more than the award, there may be nothing left over for uniforms, and you'll be paying for them yourself as before.

Timing matters too. The award is paid in three installments: 25% in July, 25% on October 1 and 50% on February 1. If the school has already drawn most of the first two installments for tuition, a uniform purchase in the fall can leave the account short until February. Ask the business office how it plans to bill the year before you spend. Our guide to what's left after TEFA walks through the math at different tuition levels, and what TEFA pays for covers every other expense category.

Keep records like you expect an audit

The Comptroller's policy is blunt: every TEFA purchase is subject to audit. Breaking the uniform rules can mean repaying the program, being suspended from it, or both. Schools and vendors are told to keep clear records, and families should too. A simple habit helps:

Save a copy of the school's dress code page that lists required items.
Keep the vendor's itemized receipt, not just the card or credit confirmation.
Buy only what the dress code requires, in the quantities a child reasonably needs.
Pay out of pocket for monograms, jewelry, letter jackets, spirit wear and anything marked optional.

Questions to ask your school this fall

Dallas schools are still working out how they handle TEFA purchases, so a short conversation can save a lot of guesswork:

Which vendor supplies our uniforms, and is it in the TEFA marketplace?
Will the school buy uniforms and charge my child's account, or should I order directly?
Are used-uniform sales handled through the account, or are they cash only?
Which items on the dress code are required, and which are optional?

If you're still comparing schools, the Catholic school directory and Christian school directory show which campuses in our area accept TEFA. A School Funding Advisor can also help you line up tuition, uniforms and the other costs before the February installment arrives.

Sources

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