The Tennessee Department of Education has announced the application dates for the Education Freedom Scholarship Program for the 2026–2027 school year, including deadlines for both returning and new families.
Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Program, now in its second year, awards state-funded school choice scholarships for students to use for private K–12 education expenses.
CALLING ALL TN FAMILIES: @TNedu just announced Education Freedom Scholarship application dates for the 2026-2027 school year!
Dec. 9, 2025–returning families
Jan. 13, 2026–new families
Interested & participating families can learn more about the application process here: https://t.co/Ae48cjLZYm
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) November 20, 2025
Passed by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year, the program offered an initial 20,000 scholarships for the 2025-2026 school year, each worth approximately $7,295.
The scholarships were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, with 10,000 designated for students whose household income does not exceed 300 percent of the federal free or reduced-price lunch guidelines and the other 10,000 available to all eligible students, regardless of income.
On December 9, the scholarship application will open for families who had received a scholarship in the program’s first year and are seeking to renew the funds for the 2026-2027 school year.
Families who did not receive a scholarship in the program’s first year may apply for the funds on January 13.
The application window closes for all families on January 30.
Noting the program’s success in its first year with 42,827 applications submitted from families in 94 out of Tennessee’s 95 counties, Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds said, “I’m grateful to the families and schools who have engaged in the program, and encourage interested families to apply.”
In the program’s second year, the General Assembly provided for a minimum of 20,000 scholarships, the same number available in the first year.
However, since applications in the first year exceed 75 percent of the available slots, the Department of Education is permitted to increase the second-year cap by up to 5,000 additional scholarships, for a possible total of 25,000.
Based on the demand seen in the program’s first year, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) recently proposed doubling the amount of scholarships available.
“[H]opefully we can get that increase to another 20,000 to get to 40,000, which would be very beneficial to meet that need,” Sexton said on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
For complete eligibility requirements, to view the documents needed to complete the Education Freedom Scholarship Program application, and to learn more about the program, visit the Department of Education’s website.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
