Newsroom

Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education celebrated the expansion of the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program and announced remarkable results from the second year of implementation. Tennessee’s first-ever universal school choice program once again drew tremendous interest from families across the state, with a 99% renewal rate after the program’s inaugural year. In the 2026-27 school year, Governor Bill Lee and the General Assembly are empowering more Tennessee parents to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs by expanding the program by 15,000 seats. The Governor signed the legislation into law today, May 7, 2026.

Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) began delivering decisions to families regarding their eligibility for the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program in the 2026-27 school year.

Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education released numbers demonstrating the strong and ongoing demand for the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program among families statewide.

Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced key dates for the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program’s second year of implementation, and encouraged interested families across the state to apply for the universal school choice program that allows parents to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs, regardless of income level or zip code.

Nashville, TN— Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced remarkable results from the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program’s inaugural year. Tennessee’s first-ever universal school choice program has experienced tremendous interest from families across the state, empowering parents with the ability to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs, regardless of income level or zip code.

Nashville, TN – Today, the Tennessee Department of Education (department) shared additional details on Tennesseans’ enthusiastic response to the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program, which launched less than one week ago on May 15. As of Monday, more than 38,000 applications have been submitted statewide. Roughly 50 percent of scholarship applications were from families with a qualified income.

Nashville, TN— Today, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) released the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program Application Step-By-Step Guide to continue supporting interested families as they prepare for the application launch this Thursday, May 15. Families are invited to apply here beginning Thursday at noon CT/1 p.m. ET.

Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program application will launch on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. CT/1:00 p.m. ET for all Tennessee families to submit an eligible student application.

Nashville, TN— Today, the Tennessee Department of Education released the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program student application checklist and encouraged interested families to begin gathering required documentation to submit when the application launches in May. The department will announce the program’s launch date in the coming weeks. Families can access the checklist for Education Freedom Scholarships, Tennessee’s landmark universal school choice plan, here.

NASHVILLE, TN – Today, the Tennessee Department of Education is highlighting the multiple promotion pathways for 3rd grade students who may need extra learning supports, including the 3rd grade English Language Arts (ELA) Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) retake assessment and the appeals window for families of 3rd grade students.

Nashville, TN— This month, the Tennessee Department of Education is promoting the annual Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), which will be administered to students in grades 3-8 from April 15 – May 3.

Nashville, TN – Throughout the month of March, the Tennessee Department of Education invites all Tennesseans to celebrate Tennessee Literacy Month, as proclaimed by Governor Bill Lee, spotlighting the Reading 360 initiative and the focus Tennessee’s educators, families, elected officials, and community partners have on continuing to improve literacy rates for all learners in the state.

Nashville, TN – Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced the 2024-25 school year Education Savings Account (ESA) application is now open for eligible students zoned to attend a Memphis-Shelby County School, Metro-Nashville Public School, Hamilton County School, or a school in the Achievement School District on May 24, 2019. The deadline to submit an application for fall enrollment is August 1, 2024.

Nashville, TN – Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced the Individualized Education Account (IEA) applications for the 2024-25 school year will open on February 15th for eligible students with disabilities across the state. Families can apply for the program through April 15th.

Nashville, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education released the calculation to generate A-F letter grades for schools, in alignment with state law.