NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Families waitlisted, but eventually awarded private school vouchers through Tennessee’s new Education Freedom Scholarship program, are facing a final deadline this week to secure their funding.
In its first year, the voucher program will provide $7,295 per student to help cover the cost of private school tuition.
A total of 20,000 scholarships will be distributed under the initiative, which narrowly passed the state legislature during a special session last year called by Gov. Bill Lee.
The online application process opened on May 15, 2025, and most scholarship recipients were notified before July 1, 2025, of the award. Under rules set up by the Tennessee Department of Education, those students’ families were required to inform the state of their chosen private school by July 15, 2025.
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However, some families placed on a waitlist did not learn they had been awarded scholarships until after July 1, 2025. So, those students have until July 30, 2025, to select a school and notify the state or risk forfeiting the funds.
Nearly 40,000 families applied for the scholarships, state officials said. While the initial rollout aimed to prioritize applicants on a first-come, first-served basis, some parents using the online application say the system was plagued with technical issues, causing delays and confusion.
Those concerns come on top of criticism lobbed at the Department of Education and Gov. Lee’s office, which are also under fire for a lack of transparency related to who is receiving these publicly funded scholarships. Critics, including Republican State Representative Jody Barrett, who voted against the law creating the voucher system, are demanding more data on whether the scholarships are reaching students previously enrolled in public schools or primarily benefitting those already attending private institutions.
“It seems fairly clear that the administration does not want to know these things because they’re afraid it may not line up with the narrative that was put out there for the reason they were supporting this measure,” Barrett said.
As the program moves forward, WSMV4 wants to hear from families who experienced difficulties with the application process, were denied, waitlisted, or encountered other issues. You can reach our investigative team at WSMV.Tips@graymedia.com.
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