Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said a possible expansion to the number of scholarships offered under Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Program would depend on the state’s revenue picture.
McNally told The Tennessee Journal on Monday that although he supports expanding the number of school choice vouchers available through the Education Freedom Scholarship Program, an increase to the program should only be made when the state has a “clearer idea” about its revenue intake.
“We’ll have to see where revenues come in — and I would like to expand it, but I think the amount we expand it will be determined by the revenue picture of the state,” McNally told the outlet.
Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Program, now accepting applications for its second year, awards state-funded school choice scholarships for students to use for private K-12 education expenses.
The program offered an initial 20,000 scholarships for the 2025-2026 school year, each worth approximately $7,295.
The scholarships were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, with 10,000 designated for students whose household income does not exceed 300 percent of the federal free or reduced-price lunch guidelines and the other 10,000 available to all eligible students, regardless of income.
In the program’s first year, a total of 42,827 applications were submitted from families in 94 out of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
Since applications in the first year exceed 75 percent of the available slots, the Tennessee General Assembly permitted the Department of Education to increase the second-year cap by up to 5,000 additional scholarships, for a possible total of 25,000.
Based on the demand seen in the program’s first year, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) recently proposed doubling the amount of scholarships sought by families across the state.
The General Assembly is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
