The Education Freedom Scholarship Act became effective in 2025 and is codified at T.C.A. § 49-6-3501 et. seq. The program is administered by the department of education and provides scholarships to eligible students, subject to appropriations and other available funds. T.C.A. § 49-6-3503.

For the 2025-2026 school year, the department will award a maximum of 20,000 scholarships. T.C.A. § 49-6-3504 provides that 10,000 of the scholarships will be awarded to students who meet one of the following criteria: 

• A student’s annual household income does not exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services; or
• The student is an eligible student as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-2602 or Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-1402.

10,000 scholarships are available for eligible students, regardless of the student’s household income.

T.C.A. § 49-6-3504 also provides guidance on how scholarships will be awarded beginning in the 2026-2027 school year and subsequent years.

T.C.A. § 49-6-3505 provides that scholarships are funded by the state and equal the base funding amount as defined by T.C.A. § 49-3-104(2). Funds must first be used for tuition. Any remaining funds may be used for:

• Textbooks, curricula, instructional materials, and uniforms;
• Training and tutoring services;
• Computer hardware, technological devices, and other technology fees;
• Tuition, fees, curricula, and instructional materials for summer academic programs;
• Fees for early postsecondary opportunity courses and exams, entrance exams, and industry credentials; and
• Educational therapy services.

All purchases made with scholarship funds must meet the requirements as established by the department.

Under most circumstances, a recipient’s account remains open, and all available funds remain in the scholarship account from one school year to the next. Certain events such as graduation from high school, enrollment in a public school, or withdrawal from the scholarship program will require that funds be returned to the state treasurer. T.C.A. § 49-6-3506.

As a condition of receiving a scholarship, recipients in grades three through eleven must annually be administered a nationally standardized achievement test, or the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests for math and English language arts. T. C. A. § 49-6-3507.

A private school that enrolls recipients is autonomous and is not an agent of the state. T. C. A. § 49-6-3508.