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The Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) is the state's universal school choice program, providing roughly $7,300 per student in an education savings account that families direct toward private school tuition and other approved expenses. Created by the Education Freedom Act of 2025 and signed into law by Governor Bill Lee, the program launched with 20,000 scholarships and expanded to 35,000 for the 2026-27 school year. The Tennessee Department of Education administers it. Applications for 2026-27 are closed, with a waitlist in place, but knowing how EFS works positions families for the next cycle and for waitlist openings.
Here is how the scholarship is sized, who gets priority, and what the money can buy.
An EFS is funded to match the state's base per-pupil amount under the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) formula, which was about $7,295 for the 2025-26 school year. Because the award tracks that formula, the figure adjusts each year as state funding changes. The scholarship is separate from the money that flows to public schools, and it lands in an account families manage rather than a check.
The program also carries an escalator. State law increases the number of available scholarships by 5,000 whenever prior-year applications exceed 75 percent of the seats available, which is how the count climbed from 20,000 in the first year toward 35,000 for 2026-27. Demand has been strong throughout. The program drew a 99 percent renewal rate after its first year, and for 2026-27 the state received 56,440 applications, a 31.8 percent jump, reserved all 35,000 scholarships, and placed 17,735 students on a waitlist. That waitlist matters, because seats can open as awarded families decline or miss deadlines.
Any student entitled to attend a Tennessee public school in grades K-12 is eligible to apply, which is what makes the program universal. When applications exceed available scholarships, state law sorts them into tiers.
Priority 1 goes to renewing recipients who held a scholarship the prior year. Priority 2 covers income-eligible students whose household income does not exceed 100 percent of the federal free or reduced-price lunch threshold, or who qualify for the state's Individualized Education Account or Education Savings Account programs. Priority 3 covers households up to 300 percent of that threshold. Priority 4 covers students currently enrolled in a public school or entering kindergarten. Priority 5 covers families who choose not to demonstrate eligibility for another tier.
For 2026-27, 81 percent of new scholarships went to applicants demonstrating income eligibility or eligibility for the state's other choice programs, so families in the lower tiers had a real advantage. Applications are reviewed by priority category and, within each category, in the order they are received, which rewards families who apply early and completely.
The Education Freedom Scholarship runs on its own platform, separate from Tennessee's Individualized Education Account and Education Savings Account programs, so a family that already uses one of those still creates a new EFS account and applies on its own track. Before the next window opens, it helps to gather proof of residency, income documentation for families seeking a lower tier, and a shortlist of registered schools, since a complete application submitted on the first day carries the best odds in a program where demand has outrun supply two years running.
Funds must first go toward tuition and fees at an EFS-registered non-public school. Approved additional uses include textbooks, uniforms, tutoring, fees for summer and after-school academic programs, transportation from a fee-for-service provider, early postsecondary course and exam fees, and educational therapy services. Money left in the account generally carries forward to the next year while the student stays in the program, and funds return to the state on graduation, a return to public school, or withdrawal.
Two rules shape school selection. The school must be an EFS-registered Category I, II, or III non-public school located in Tennessee, and the school must confirm a student's enrollment in the EFS portal by the state's deadline for an offer to hold. Students in grades three through eleven must also take the state assessment or a nationally standardized test each year, with results reported to the state.
Because an EFS lets a family choose the school, the choice itself carries weight, and one factor that predicts achievement is how capable a student feels in their core subjects. A study by Rost and Feng (2024) examined how several self-related traits predicted the grades of nearly 800 adolescents in language and mathematics, and found that subject-specific academic self-concept, a student's belief that they are good at a subject, was the strongest predictor among the traits studied. Consider a family weighing two schools: one where a struggling reader is quietly written off, and one where teachers help that child rebuild a sense of competence subject by subject. The scholarship amount is identical; the self-concept a student develops is not.
Score Academy Online is a Cognia-accredited, NCAA-approved online private school for grades K-12, with live certified teachers, individualized education plans, and small synchronous classes capped at six students in the middle and high school grades. Families can see how the K-12 curriculum is structured and review the school's Cognia and NCAA status before enrolling.
Because EFS funds flow only to schools registered with the program and located in Tennessee, families should confirm the current registered-school list with the Tennessee Department of Education before directing funds; Score Academy Online is pursuing approved-provider status across active school choice states as programs expand. The tuition math is useful either way. With per-course tuition from $415 for self-paced courses to $2,500 for live instruction, a roughly $7,300 budget covers a meaningful share of a live schedule, and the online middle school program offers small-group classes for students who need more structure. Rolling enrollment lets Tennessee students start any time, the college outcomes page documents graduates' results, and the school choice hub compares Tennessee's program with options in other states.
Program rules, award amounts, and timelines change. Confirm current requirements with the Tennessee Department of Education before making final enrollment decisions.
How much is the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship worth? Each scholarship matches the state's base per-pupil funding under the TISA formula, about $7,295 for 2025-26. The figure adjusts annually as state funding changes.
Is the program open to every student? Yes, any K-12 student entitled to attend a Tennessee public school may apply. When demand exceeds available scholarships, a five-tier priority system sorts applicants, with renewing and income-eligible students funded first.
Are applications still open for 2026-27? No. All 35,000 scholarships are reserved and a waitlist of more than 17,000 students is in place. Families can watch for waitlist openings and prepare for the next application cycle.
Can I use EFS at an online school? Funds go to EFS-registered non-public schools located in Tennessee. Confirm a school's registration and location with the Tennessee Department of Education before enrolling.
What can the money be spent on besides tuition? Tuition and fees come first, then approved uses such as:
Do unused funds roll over? Yes. Money remaining in the account generally carries forward to the next year while the student stays in the program.
The Utah Fits All Scholarship gives K-12 families up to $8,000 in an ESA. See eligibility, award amounts, approved expenses, and how to apply through Odyssey.
The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit gives families $5,000 to $7,500 per child for private school. See amounts, income tiers, deadlines, and how to apply.
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