Tennessee EFS: Education Freedom Scholarships

$7,530 per student for 2026-27.

Any Tennessee resident entitled to attend public school in kindergarten to 12th grade who is a U.S. citizen or lawfully present. When applications exceed seats, awards go in this order: current recipients; households at or below the free or reduced-price lunch limit, or on SNAP or TANF, or eligible for the state’s ESA or IEA; households at or below 300% of that lunch limit; current public school students and kindergarten entrants; then everyone else.

Not always. The award is a set amount and every school sets its own price. Ask each school for tuition plus fees, then subtract the award. The calculator on this page does the sum for you.

Schools marked here appear on the Tennessee Department of Education’s list of 290 schools registered for Education Freedom Scholarships in 2026-27, updated August 24, 2026. The state lists schools by county, so we match by name inside the county.

For 2026-27, renewals opened December 9, 2025 and new applications opened January 13, 2026. The window closed February 6, 2026 at 4 p.m. Central, the department’s applications page and its February 20, 2026 announcement say; its 2026-27 FAQ, dated December 22, 2025 and not updated since, still gives January 30, 2026. Dates for 2027-28 are not posted yet.

Create an account in the EFS online portal (app.efs.tnedu.gov) with an active email address before the window opens; a paper application can be requested by emailing EFS.Questions@tn.gov. The 7 steps are listed under “Apply for the Tennessee EFS” on this page, with the documents to have ready.

Yes. A student already in a non-public school can apply, but must be enrolled in an EFS-registered Category I, II or III school in Tennessee to receive funds.

Yes. Families reapply for each student every year; current recipients complete a shorter renewal application in the portal and are considered first.

A homeschooled student can apply, but the money can only be used after the student enrolls in an EFS-registered Category I, II or III non-public school. Category IV and V schools and independent home schools are not permitted.

No. The program is for students entering kindergarten through grade 12, and a kindergartner must be 5 years old by September 30 of the school year.

No. TDOE says EFS funds are not taxable income under the Education Freedom Act and no 1099 is issued.

Unused funds stay in the account from one school year to the next. They return to the State Treasurer if the account closes, for example when the student graduates, enrolls in a public school or leaves Tennessee.

A Tennessee resident who could attend public school in kindergarten to grade 12 that year, is a U.S. citizen or lawfully present, and has finished fewer than 13 years of school. The money can only be used at an EFS-registered Category I, II or III non-public school in Tennessee.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

$7,530 for 2026-27. It matches the base amount per student in the state's TISA school funding formula, so it will likely change each year, and every scholarship depends on the money the legislature provides.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

Not for 2026-27: the window closed February 6, 2026. The state has not posted 2027-28 dates; the EFS Family Newsletter carries updates.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, EFS Applications, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

Current recipients first, then lower-income students (at or under the free or reduced-price lunch limit, or eligible for the ESA or IEA), then students at or under 300% of that limit, then current public school students and kindergarten entrants, then everyone else. Within each group it is first come, first served, and siblings get no preference.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

Tuition and fees at the registered school come first. Anything left can go to textbooks, uniforms, approved summer and after-school academic programs, tutoring by a licensed teacher or accredited agency, bus or other commercial transport to school, exam fees, therapies and one approved device a year. It cannot pay for internet service.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

Into the student's account in the state portal, never to the parent, in four parts: 50% on August 15, 20% on October 15, 20% on January 15 and 10% on March 15. The portal pays the school; other purchases go through its Marketplace.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

The scholarship is prorated by the days enrolled, and the school must refund any prepaid tuition beyond that amount. Money left when a student leaves the program, including at graduation, is forfeited.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.

You get one chance to resubmit corrected residency or citizenship documents, by 4 p.m. Central on the fifth business day after the notice. Priority information cannot be added later, so include it the first time.

Source: Tennessee Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Scholarship FAQs, undated page, read October 7, 2026.