Active duty versus drilling reserve
TEFA pre-K covers a child whose parent is on active duty in the armed forces, including reserve or state military forces ordered to active duty. A parent who drills one weekend a month isn't on active duty for this purpose, so a reservist family's 3-year-old needs another criterion, such as income, to qualify.
No base school district
There are no Department of Defense schools at NAS JRB Fort Worth, and on-base family housing is limited. Most families live off base, so the home district depends on the address: White Settlement ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Castleberry ISD, Lake Worth ISD, Aledo ISD and Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD are among the 20 districts the base lists.
Your best local contact
The Navy School Liaison at NAS JRB Fort Worth is the base's point of contact with local schools, at 1525 Chenault Avenue, (817) 782-7376. Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD also says it keeps a military family liaison at every campus.
Schools near the gates
All Saints' Episcopal, Covenant Classical School and St. Peter the Apostle Catholic School are within a few miles of the base. Covenant Classical and St. Peter were in the TEFA finder; All Saints' Episcopal wasn't when we checked.
Moving on orders
TEFA doesn't take applications year-round. If you're arriving after the window, plan on school aid for the first year. If a move out of Texas is likely, pay tuition as it comes due, because a school returns prepaid amounts to the state, not to you, when a student leaves the program.
IEP amounts in the west-side districts
For a mainstream IEP setting, White Settlement ISD totals $16,887, Castleberry ISD $17,264 and Lake Worth ISD $17,387 for 2026-27.
IEP amounts in the districts around NAS JRB Fort Worth
| Home district | TEFA-funded students (Jul 29, 2026) | IEP: speech only (00) | IEP: mainstream (40) | IEP: resource / self-contained (41-44) | IEP: residential facility (81-89) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Settlement ISD | 193 | $11,403 | $16,887 | $15,788 | $25,809 |
| Fort Worth ISD | 1,764 | $11,390 | $16,794 | $15,712 | $25,588 |
| Castleberry ISD | 40 | $11,473 | $17,264 | $16,275 | $27,047 |
| Lake Worth ISD | 49 | $11,494 | $17,387 | $16,415 | $27,414 |
| Aledo ISD | 135 | $11,449 | $17,205 | $16,052 | $26,569 |
| Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD | 469 | $11,419 | $16,994 | $15,877 | $26,065 |
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 Fort Worth-area districts →
Next step
Start the two-minute funding check. An advisor will go over each source your family can use, from TEFA to Catholic and school aid, and the deadlines that go with them.