Residency:
To verify residency, parents or guardians will be asked to provide one of the following:
Texas driver’s licence
State ID number
If you do not have a Texas driver’s license or state ID number recognized by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), you may instead provide one of the following documents:
Utility bill
Lease agreement or mortgage statement
Voter registration certificate
Please ensure the documents are under the parent or guardian’s name and match the residential address provided in the application. However, for a driver’s license, the address does not need to match the applicant’s current address, but it must be valid within the state of Texas.
Active-duty military families will be asked to provide:
Current active duty orders placing the household in the state of Texas, or
Military orders indicating that the family will be residing in Texas during the 26-27 school year
Income:
To verify income, all applicants must provide:
Form 1040 Federal Tax Return, for 2024 or 2025.
Whichever was filed last, on which the child is claimed as a dependent.
Only the first two pages of the 1040 form are needed.
If the applicant does not have a 1040, they can file taxes and receive their 1040 through an IRS trusted partner found here. There are options for low income families to file for free.
Please ensure the document matches the parent or guardian’s name while clearly showing the Adjusted Gross Income.
Child’s lawful presence in the United States:
Odyssey will attempt to validate the child's lawful status via the parent’s driver's license or real ID status, or the child's social security number. In the event additional documentation is required to verify that a child is a U.S. citizen, U.S.national, or is lawfully admitted into the United States, the parent may be asked to provide one of the following for the child:
Birth certificate
Report of birth abroad
Certificate of citizenship
Certificate of naturalization
Other official documentation affirming lawful admission
Children with a disability:
If the child has or has had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) on file with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for either the 2023-2024 school year, 2024-2025 school year, 2026-2027 school year, or for the upcoming school year, please provide the following:
Numerical instructional code (For more information, please review this article)
Student’s next annual review date (This is sometimes referred to as the “next annual ARD date” or the “due date”)
Student's Unique Texas Student Identifier number, if applicable (If the Unique Texas Student ID is unknown, please call your local school district)
Student's S-number, if applicable
Student's social security number
Student's date of birth
If the child does not have an IEP filed with the TEA as mentioned above, please provide one of the following:
TEFA Disability Certification form completed by your child's practitioner. This form can be downloaded through the following link here.
Full Individual and Initial Evaluation (FIIE)
Out-of-state IEP
Expired Texas IEP
If you upload the TEFA Disability Certification form, you must also include:
Name of Practitioner who indicated Special Education need
Name of Practitioner Office
Practitioner Office phone number
For additional details on prioritization and funding, please review this article.
Prekindergarten children:
Prekindergarten children who meet the criteria found here may be asked to upload supplemental documentation. The following categories must upload one of the listed documents:
Foster care children
Please provide one of the following:
Court order
Adoption paperwork
DFPS foster/kinship placement documents
PreK verification letter
Other valid proof that the child is in foster care
Children of a member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving on active-duty
Please provide one of the following:
Statement of service
Line of duty determination documentation
Purple Heart orders
Applicable citations
Children of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award
Please provide:
Parent’s Star of Texas certificate
Additional information:
The following is information we will collect during the application process. Please have this information available to ensure a quick and smooth process.
Parent/Guardian’s SSN or ITIN
Texas driver’s license or state ID number, if available
Child's SSN
Child's S-Number, if applicable. Typically, if the child has a valid SSN, then the student will not have a Texas S-number.
Child's Texas Unique Child Identification number, if applicable. A child may have this identifier if they have previously been enrolled in a public or charter school, or if they have participated in a public school program.
Child's planned educational setting for the 2026–2027 school year (private school or homeschool).
The application is set to launch on February 4th, 2026.
We encourage you to download the parent prep checklist found here.