(The Center Square) – Parents can begin applying for Education Freedom Scholarships in the spring, according to information from the Tennessee Department of Education.
The department’s division of school choice will lead the implementation and the program will be ready by the 2025-26 school year, the Education Department told The Center Square in an email.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill, which the General Assembly passed in a special session, on Wednesday afternoon.
“Tennesseans care deeply about their kids’ future, and I’m grateful that families will now have greater opportunity with the freedom to choose their child’s education,” Lee said.
The nearly $7,300 private school scholarships are available to 20,000 students during the 2025-26 school year, according to the Education Department. Half of the scholarships will be awarded to students in families with an annual household income that doesn’t exceed 300% of the federal free lunch poverty guidelines. All students are eligible for the other 10,000 scholarships regardless of income.
A January survey from the Beacon Center showed that a majority of Tennesseans backed school choice.
The poll of 1,200 registered voters said 67% back the plan, including 73% of Republicans and 51% of Democrats. Just 13% said they opposed, and 20% were not sure.
Democrats opposed the bill, calling it a “voucher scheme.”
“There is nothing conservative about rushing into this plan to create the largest entitlement program in the history of our state to spend billions of our taxpayer dollars on privatization schemes,” said Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, during debate on the bill in the House of Representatives.
Tennessee is the 12th state to implement universal school choice, but the scholarships may not be available to all students in the state. Eligibility is only open to students who are “lawfully present in the United States,” according to the bill. The clause leaves a question as to how eligibility would be determined.
Another question is who will administer the payments. The state has a contract with Student First Technologies to administer a school choice pilot program for Hamilton, Davidson and Shelby counties.
“We will partner with the State Board of Education as they promulgate rules and are collaborating with the state’s Central Procurement Office to explore all options to implement the program in compliance with state procurement laws and rules,” the department said in an email in response to a question from The Center Square.
The State Board of Education’s next meeting is Feb. 21.
