Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) will give eligible K–12 students access to state funds they can use for certain education costs while attending registered non-public schools. The projected award is about $7,295 per student. Families must apply the funds first to tuition and required fees. Any remaining amount may then go toward other approved expenses such as tutoring, textbooks, or transportation, The program is statewide but capped at 20,000 scholarships in its first year.

Understanding Tennessee’s Non-Public School Landscape

Families applying for EFS must enroll in a school that is formally recognized by the state as a non-public school. In Tennessee, that category includes private schools, church-related schools, and home-school programs operated through accredited umbrella organizations. These schools are not run by local districts or the state education department; they are privately managed and supported by tuition and donations.

To legally operate, each non-public school must fall into one of the state’s five official categories. EFS requires enrollment specifically in a Category I, II, or III school, which includes private schools approved by the state, accredited private schools, and church-related schools recognized by state-authorized accrediting agencies. Families can check a school’s categorization using the public directory maintained by the Tennessee Department of Education here.

To see whether a school is approved to participate in the program, families should review the Approved List of Non-Public Schools on the Non-Public Schools page of TDOE’s website.

Students in independent home schools or in church-related umbrella home-school programs are not eligible for EFS funds—EFS in Tennessee is currently limited to students who enroll in participating Category I, II, or III non-public schools.

What Makes a Category I, II, or III School?

In Tennessee, non-public schools are sorted into five categories based on how they are approved or accredited. Only Category I, II, and III non-public schools that register to participate can take part in the EFS program.

• Category I schools: Approved directly by the state and required to follow state expectations for curriculum, operations, and basic health, safety, and background-check requirements for staff.

• Category II schools: Private schools that are accredited by an outside agency whose standards and procedures have been approved by the state.

• Category III schools: Private schools that hold regional accreditation from agencies recognized in state rules.

Key Dates for the 2026–27 EFS Cycle

Families planning for the next school year should know that the Education Freedom Scholarship timeline moves quickly. Renewal applications for current EFS students open on December 9, 2025, at 12 p.m. CT, and only students already receiving funds may apply in this first window. New applications for the 2026–27 school year open on January 13, 2026, at 12 p.m. CT, when first-time applicants can enter the system. Both renewal and new applications must be submitted by January 30, 2026, at 4 p.m. CT, which is the statewide deadline for all families. Scholarship awards are made in the order that completed applications are received, so submitting early can improve a student’s chance of receiving a spot.

While applications are underway, the state will continue its scheduled scholarship payments: Quarter 3 disbursements are projected for January 15, 2026, and Quarter 4 disbursements for March 15, 2026.

Who Can Apply?

To receive an Education Freedom Scholarship, a student must meet several basic requirements. The student must live in Tennessee and be eligible to attend a Tennessee public school in grades K–12. Children must also be old enough for kindergarten under the state’s age rules, which require them to turn five by the official cutoff date for that school year.

Students must be U.S. citizens or be legally permitted to live in the United States. Their family will need to provide information about household income, usually by submitting the most recent federal tax return or proof that they receive assistance from programs such as SNAP, TANF, or certain special education scholarship programs that Tennessee already operates.

How to Submit an Application

To apply, parents first create an online account, answer a series of questions, and upload required documents. If a family does not have internet access, they can mail or drop off a paper application to the Tennessee Department of Education, and staff will enter it into the online system after it is received. Because scholarships are awarded in the order that completed applications appear in the system, turning everything in as early as possible is important.

The state requires documents that prove Tennessee residency, such as a recent utility bill, lease, mortgage statement, insurance document, or an official benefits letter; a Tennessee driver’s license can count as one of these. Families must also show that the student is a U.S. citizen or is legally allowed to live in the United States, using either one U.S. passport or birth certificate, or two approved immigration documents such as a permanent resident card and another federal notice. If a family is applying for a “qualified” scholarship based on income, they will also need to submit their 2024 federal tax return or a benefits letter that shows they receive SNAP or TANF.

What to Expect After You Submit

After an application is submitted, parents can log in to the state’s EFS website to monitor its status. The state reviews only applications that include all required documents; if something is missing or too blurry to read, the application is marked incomplete and requires attention. This can cause a student to lose their place in line, since scholarships are given out in the order that completed applications are received.

If a student meets the requirements and there is still a scholarship available, the state issues a “conditional approval” and instructs the family to enroll in a participating Category I, II, or III private school. If there are more applicants than scholarships, some students are placed on a waitlist, which may be a “qualified” or “universal” waitlist depending on how they applied.

A conditional approval does not guarantee a seat at a particular school, so families still need to choose an eligible school in the portal. The school must then confirm that the student is enrolled, and only after that step will the state grant full approval and begin paying scholarship funds. Families must finish choosing a school and having the school confirm enrollment by the enrollment confirmation deadline. That deadline will be listed in the state’s EFS calendar and Family Handbook, which for the 2026–27 year has not yet been posted.

How Scholarship Funds Work

Each year, a student’s EFS award is deposited into an online account in four installments, with the largest portion usually provided in the first quarter of the school year. The student’s school withdraws tuition and required school fees from this account first, and then removal from EFS and closure of the account.