Last verified: October 2026
How much is the Education Freedom Scholarship for a Nashville student in 2026-27?
Each Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) is worth $7,530 for the 2026-27 school year, the same amount for a kindergartner in Smyrna and a senior in Green Hills. The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) ties it to the base amount in the state's TISA funding formula and pays it entirely from state money.
Funds are released in four installments: 50% in August, 20% in October, 20% in January and 10% in March. Each school bills the account according to its own contract with the family.
Who gets an EFS seat when more families apply than there are scholarships?
Seats go in five priority tiers, and inside each tier in the order complete applications arrive. Tier 1 is current recipients renewing. Tier 2 is households at or below the free-or-reduced-price lunch income limit, families on SNAP or TANF, and students eligible for the ESA or IEA programs. Tier 3 is households up to three times that lunch limit. Tier 4 is students currently in a Tennessee public school or entering kindergarten. Tier 5 is everyone else.
For 2026-27, TDOE received 56,440 applications for 35,000 seats; 17,735 went to a waitlist. TDOE's comparison sheet adds that Tier 4 will carry an income limit beginning with the 2027-28 cycle.
Which Nashville-area private schools accept the Education Freedom Scholarship?
Only schools that hold Category I, II or III approval, have a physical Tennessee campus and have registered with TDOE can be paid. On the registered list TDOE updated August 24, 2026, 82 of those schools are in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner and Wilson counties, out of 290 statewide.
Category IV church-related schools, Category V schools and independent homeschooling are excluded. A homeschooled child may still apply, but the money only flows once the child enrolls at a registered school. Every school page on this site shows whether the school is on the list.
When do Nashville families apply for the 2027-28 Education Freedom Scholarship?
TDOE has not yet published 2027-28 application dates. For 2026-27, renewals opened December 9, 2025, new applications opened January 13, 2026 at noon Central, and both closed January 30, 2026 at 4 p.m. Central.
Because tiers fill in order of receipt, timing matters. Families should create the EFS portal account early and have a citizenship document and two Tennessee residency proofs scanned before the window opens.
What has changed for the Education Freedom Scholarship in 2026?
The program grew from 20,000 to 35,000 scholarships when Governor Bill Lee signed an expansion on May 7, 2026. In October 2026 a three-judge state panel dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the program under the Tennessee Constitution, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
Schools that want to be on next year's list must register for 2027-28 between November 16, 2026 and April 30, 2027; TDOE says it will not accept late registrations.
| What Education Freedom Scholarship is | What it isn't |
|---|---|
| A state-funded account of $7,530 per student for 2026-27 | Not available at Category IV or V schools or for independent homeschooling |
| Usable at EFS-registered Category I, II and III schools with a Tennessee campus | Not income for tax purposes (no 1099 is issued) |
| Applied to tuition and fees before anything else | Not usable for internet service or stand-alone software |
| Carried forward if unspent while the student stays in the program | Not combinable with an ESA or IEA in the same year |