Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed into law an expansion of Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Program, increasing the total number of available school choice scholarships from 20,000 to 35,000 for the 2026-27 school year.
“Long before I became Governor, I believed a quality education can change the trajectory of a child’s life,” Gov. Lee said in a statement. “I’m deeply grateful for the General Assembly’s partnership to expand the Education Freedom Scholarship Program and give more Tennessee families the opportunity to choose the learning environment that best fits their child’s unique needs.”
The legislation, House Bill 2532, adds 15,000 new scholarships to the state’s year-old universal school choice program and commits approximately $155 million in additional state funding. Each scholarship for the coming school year is valued at $7,530.
“This expansion means that more families, regardless of their background or income, can choose to send their child to the public school, charter school or private school that will best support their individual learning needs,” Chelsea Crawford, Executive Director of TennesseeCAN said in a social media post.
The signing comes amid surging demand for the program. According to the Tennessee Department of Education, more than 56,000 students applied for scholarships for the upcoming 2026-27 school year — more than twice the number of available slots under the old cap.
The Tennessee Senate narrowly approved the expansion by a vote of 18-14, with eight Republicans opposing the measure. The House of Representatives had previously passed its own version of HB 2532 by a 52-43 margin, before House members voted 63-28 to concur with the Senate’s changes, sending the bill to the governor’s desk.
Lee first signed the Education Freedom Act into law on February 12, 2025, establishing Tennessee’s universal school choice program and making 20,000 scholarships available for the 2025-26 school year at a value of $7,295 each. In that inaugural year, all 20,000 available scholarships were reserved, with half set aside for income-eligible students and the remainder available to students regardless of income, usable at more than 240 participating private schools across the state.
Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship program is part of a national school choice movement, as The Volunteer State was among 19 across the country that now have universal school choice programs when it launched the effort in 2025.
“Last year, we gave families school choice with the Education Freedom Scholarship program, because parents know best, ” Lee said in his state of the state address in February. “Clearly, Tennesseans like freedom.”
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Christina Botteri is the Executive Editor of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow her on X at @christinakb.
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