Tennessee EFS Private Schools With No Tuition Gap (2026-27)

By The School Choice Index Editorial Team The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs.

Last verified: August 12, 2026

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Yes — Tennessee EFS private schools with no tuition gap are real. We priced 11 registered schools against the 2026-27 award. Eight of them have at least one published price that fits inside $7,530 with money left over. The biggest published cushion we found leaves $6,391 unspent before any tax that may apply. The thinnest leaves $160.

That $160 school is the reason this page exists.

Because "no tuition gap" and "you pay nothing" are not the same sentence. One school fits at the church-member rate and misses by $1,220 at the regular rate. One fits on the hybrid track and misses by $620 on the full-time track. And Tennessee's official list of 291 registered schools doesn't show a single price. Not one.

Here's what you actually need to know, up front:

• The 2026-27 award is $7,530 per student.
• Half of it — $3,765 — is projected to be disbursed in the online portal on August 15, 2026. Not a quarter. Half. It is not cash paid to you.
• 291 schools are registered for 2026-27, but only 41 of Tennessee's 95 counties have an in-person school on the state list.
• Tennessee sets no tuition cap for a registered private school. Any covered tuition and required fees above $7,530 are the family's responsibility.

The priced table is directly below the Gap Check. Then we'll show you the four things that decide whether your family has a gap — because it's almost never about the school alone.

Best for: families with a 2026-27 EFS award who are comparing named schools on real cost. Not for you if: you homeschool (EFS can't be used for it — we'll explain and point you somewhere better), or you need the leftover money as cash (you can't have it — that's the catch, and it's coming up in section two).

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Where things stand right now

Audit coverage: 11 of Tennessee's 291 registered EFS schools priced as of August 12, 2026. This is a verified starting set, not a complete statewide list. We will expand it as more current price sheets are verified. If your school isn't here yet, the Gap Check and the five-question script further down will get you the same kind of answer without guessing.

Tennessee EFS Gap Check

Use the school's price for your child's exact grade, track, rate, and enrollment date.

1. EFS-payable school cost = tuition + required fees the program will pay.
2. Scholarship gap = EFS-payable school cost − $7,530. If the answer is below zero, use $0.
3. Required out-of-pocket costs = sports, food, field trips, consumable supplies, late fees, personal transportation, and any other required charge EFS will not pay.
4. Your minimum annual family cost = scholarship gap + required out-of-pocket costs.
5. Your timing gap = anything the school requires before portal funds arrive and will not defer.

Do not put an unknown fee in as $0. Leave it marked unknown until the school gives you the number in writing.

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Tennessee EFS private schools with no tuition gap: what 11 schools cost

Sorted by published money left over, most to least. This is not a quality ranking. We do not rank schools. We sort by price, which is a number, not an opinion.

Eighteen price rows. Eleven schools. Every school on this table appears on Tennessee's official 2026-27 registered list.

A published total below $7,530 is not a promise of a $0 bill. The school still has to admit your child, accept EFS for that grade and track, bill through the portal, separate any unallowed charges, and give you the final balance.

Three things jump out of that table.

First, the same school flips. Ooltewah Adventist leaves you $1,080 at the church-member rate and puts you $1,220 in the hole at the regular rate. Same school. Same year. Same child. The difference is your church membership, not the school's price list.

Second, the track matters as much as the school. Revolution Christian Academy in Blount County fits on its hybrid schedule and misses by $620 on full-time. If you'd only looked up "Revolution Christian tuition," you'd have gotten one number and the wrong answer.

Third, and this one surprised us: six of these 11 schools are brand new to EFS this year. Ooltewah Adventist, Standifer Gap, Revolution Christian, Enlightium, Penn Foster, and Virstone all joined for 2026-27. Several of the best-fitting prices on this table come from schools that weren't in the program twelve months ago. If you checked last year's list and gave up, check again.

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What does "no tuition gap" actually mean in Tennessee?

Answer: A published Tennessee private-school price fits inside EFS when the tuition and required school charges for your child's exact grade, track, rate, and enrollment date total $7,530 or less. A true $0 family balance takes one more step: the school must confirm in writing which charges EFS will pay and what you owe outside the program. Tennessee does not cap what a registered school may charge, and any covered tuition or required fees above the award are the family's responsibility.

Let's slow down on that last part, because it's where most families get burned.

There is no such thing as a no-tuition-gap school. There's a no-tuition-gap price. And the price turns on four things about your family, not the school:

1. What grade your child is in. Metro Christian leaves $480 in K5-5 and $160 in grades 6-12. Same school, same year.
2. Whether you qualify for the church-member rate. At three of the Adventist schools we priced, membership is the entire difference between fitting and not fitting.
3. Which track your child uses. Revolution fits on hybrid and misses on full-time.
4. Which required charges EFS can legally pay. A school can bundle food, field trips, supplies, or athletics into a required fee, but those expense types are still on Tennessee's unallowed list. Get the fee itemized.

How many children you enroll, financial aid, sibling discounts, and registration dates can change the number again.

So when someone tells you "that school is covered," the honest follow-up is: covered for which grade, at which rate, on which track, with which fees?

The five labels we use, and what they really mean

We won't hand out a green checkmark we can't back up. Here's our scale, from most certain to least:

Notice that nothing on our table says "Written $0 balance confirmed." Not one row. That's not us being cautious for the sake of it — no school has given us a written grade-specific quote yet. We'll add that label the moment one does.

Our rule, and we'd suggest you adopt it too: an unpriced required cost is unknown, never zero.

The Tennessee wrinkle that catches everybody

Here's something specific to this state that trips families up.

EFS cannot pay for athletic or extracurricular fees. At all. They're on the state's list of unallowed expenses, right alongside food and field trips.

Revolution Christian Academy publishes a $150 fee per sport. Its hybrid price still fits inside the award, but that $150 sport charge is a family bill because EFS cannot pay it.

A thin cushion isn't a cushion. It's a rounding error waiting to become a bill.

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The one catch to know before you get excited

Here it is, and we'd rather you hear it from us than find out in June.

Tennessee EFS does not give you the leftover money. If your tuition comes in at $6,000, you don't pocket the other $1,530. Not as cash, not as a check, not ever. It sits in a restricted online account. After tuition and required school fees are covered, it can only buy approved things through the state's portal and Marketplace. And when your child graduates high school, goes back to a public school, or leaves the program for any reason, whatever's left goes back to the State Treasurer. The state's own FAQ says it plainly: funds remaining on exit, including at graduation, are forfeited.

If getting cash back is what you were counting on, EFS is the wrong tool and you should stop reading this page.

But here's the flip side, and it's a good one. Because that money stays parked instead of getting handed out, it rolls over from year to year for as long as your child stays enrolled. A family at a $6,000 school isn't losing $1,530 while the child remains eligible and participating. They're banking it — toward next year's tuition, toward textbooks and uniforms, toward the one computer or device the program lets the account buy each year.

That's the real argument for picking a school under $7,530. Not that you get money back. That the money keeps working while your child is there.

And if that trade doesn't work for you — if you need flexible cash, or you're planning to homeschool, or you want tuition-free with no strings — jump ahead to the homeschool section and the "costs more than $7,530" section. We'll point you somewhere that actually fits. We'd rather lose you to the right answer than keep you on the wrong one.

Run your own number. Put your school's tuition and fees into the Gap Check above and see what you'd actually owe — and what would be left over.

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Which in-person Tennessee EFS schools fit inside $7,530?

Answer: Among the in-person registered schools we've priced, published costs fit inside the $7,530 award at Dayspring Academy in Robertson County, Metro Christian Academy in Davidson County, and — at the church-member rate only — Standifer Gap SDA School, Ooltewah Adventist School, and Lester Coon Adventist School, all in Hamilton County. Revolution Christian Academy in Blount County fits on its hybrid track but not full-time. These are published-price findings and do not guarantee admission, an open seat, EFS billing for that grade, or a final zero-dollar bill.

Let's go school by school. Each one leads with the number.

Dayspring Academy (Robertson County)

Tuition is $6,525 for the first child, plus $700 in listed fees, for a published total of $7,225. That leaves $305 of the award. If the separate $60 application payment also applies, the total is $7,285 and the cushion is $245.

This is the cleanest published in-person fit we found. No membership requirement. No special track. Just a published price that lands under the award.

One thing to nail down before you count on it: the admissions steps mention a $60 application payment, while the price information also includes a $60 enrollment charge. Ask whether those are the same $60 or two different charges.

Metro Christian Academy (Davidson County)

New student, later registration rate: K5-5 comes to $7,050 ($480 left). Grades 6-12 come to $7,370 ($160 left).

That's tuition of $6,200 or $6,500, plus a $100 entrance test, $250 registration, and a comprehensive fee of $500 or $520 depending on grade.

Now the honest part. The school lists required polo shirts at $18 each and doesn't say how many you need. Buy five and your grades 6-12 cushion drops from $160 to $70.

We still call this a published fit. But it's the thinnest fit on the table, and we'd want that uniform number and every outside-EFS charge in writing before signing anything.

The three Hamilton County Adventist schools

These are the clearest example of why the rate matters more than the school.

Look at Standifer Gap. A non-member family misses the award by $30 to $80. That's it. Thirty dollars stands between "published price fits" and "published price does not fit," and which end of that range you land on depends on the registration fee.

Standifer's listed fee bundles testing and textbooks with field trips and classroom supplies. Tennessee allows some of those expense types and bars others. That makes itemization part of the price check, not a side question.

At Ooltewah, the school's own constituent-rate form says church approval can depend on membership, regular attendance, participation, giving, and yearly review. EFS can't pay your church giving. It's not tuition and it's not a required school fee. So a cheaper member rate can come with a separate obligation the scholarship legally can't touch.

Lester Coon's baseline above uses $535 registration plus the required $20 yearbook. Grade 8 adds a $75 graduation fee, and a $15 shirt applies if the student needs one. Its posted constituent form still carries the 2025-26 year, so confirm the current member-rate approval before using that price.

If you're not approved for the sponsoring church's member or constituent rate, read the non-member row as your row. It's the honest one for you.

Revolution Christian Academy (Blount County)

Hybrid K-8: $5,625 plus $650 in fees equals $6,275, leaving $1,255. Full-time K-8: $7,500 plus the same $650 equals $8,150, which is $620 over.

Same school. Same grades. Same year. One track fits comfortably and one doesn't.

The school publishes a $500 material fee due July 1, a $150 registration fee, and a $150 fee per sport. Before you pick the hybrid track for the price, confirm the exact campus schedule, the work expected at home, and which charges the school will run through EFS.

One more reason to use the state's number instead of a school's explainer: Revolution's tuition page still shows the old $7,295 award and an old 20,000-to-25,000 seat description. The current state figures are $7,530 and 35,000 available scholarships for 2026-27.

The counterexample: St. Mary School – Oak Ridge (Anderson County)

Catholic rate: $10,650 plus $1,080 in fees equals $11,730 — a $4,200 gap. Non-Catholic rate: $12,960 — a $5,430 gap.

We're including this one on purpose. Being on the state's registered list doesn't make a school affordable. St. Mary appears on the official 2026-27 list, and the school's own page says it participates in EFS, but a family there still starts with a gap of thousands.

The $1,080 fee bundles items that include cafeteria costs and supplies. Because food and consumable supplies are unallowed EFS expenses, ask the school to itemize what the portal will pay and what the family must pay separately.

There's a second layer here that we found by cross-checking against the full state list, and it's rough: St. Mary School – Oak Ridge is the only in-person EFS-registered school listed in Anderson County. So an Anderson County family with a $7,530 scholarship has one listed in-county option, and the Catholic-rate published total leaves a $4,200 gap before any aid.

That's not a criticism of the school. It's a map problem, and we cover it below.

See which price fits your child's grade. Use the full Tennessee EFS registered-school guide to build a shortlist, then take your top two into the five-question script further down.

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Which online Tennessee EFS schools fit inside $7,530?

Answer: In our 11-school sample, the largest published cushions are at registered virtual schools. ArchwayOnline's upfront annual prices total $2,822 for grades K-6 and $3,578 for grades 7-12 after its three listed enrollment charges. Penn Foster High School publishes a $1,139 pay-in-full price before any tax that may apply. Tennessee's registered virtual-school list grew from 3 entries in 2025-26 to 14 in 2026-27.

That jump — 3 to 14 in a single year — is the biggest category change we found when we compared the state's two lists.

And it matters most to the families with the fewest nearby options. More on that in the county section.

ArchwayOnline

K-6 upfront: $2,473 tuition plus $349 in listed application, processing, and placement-test fees equals $2,822. That leaves $4,708. Grades 7-12 upfront: $3,229 plus the same $349 equals $3,578. That leaves $3,952.

Those are discounted annual rates that require one upfront tuition payment. The regular 12-month rates produce higher totals that still fit: about $3,097 for K-6 and $3,937 for grades 7-12 after the same $349 in fees. Add the $100 senior fee if it applies.

Archway also tells Tennessee EFS families to contact the school for an EFS-specific package. Confirm which price applies, how it will bill through the portal, and whether the upfront discount is available with EFS.

Penn Foster High School

Pay in full: $1,139, leaving $6,391 before tax. Monthly autopay: $1,499, leaving $6,031 before tax. Mail plan: $1,639, leaving $5,891 before tax.

Biggest published cushion we found anywhere. Three cautions, all real.

First, Penn Foster says tax may apply depending on where you live. Second, its public payment page describes card and mail plans, not Tennessee EFS portal billing, so confirm the EFS payment path before treating $1,139 as your final portal total. Third, this is a self-paced high school diploma program, and the school lists age and prior-grade requirements for minors. That's a very different daily experience from a classroom. Cheap doesn't mean right for your kid.

Enlightium Academy

Enlightium's 2026-27 standard tuition runs from about $1,500 in the lower grades to $2,800 in grades 9-12, which would leave $4,730 to $6,030 of the award on tuition alone. Higher support levels reach $4,700, and its Prep Online program runs $9,000.

We're labeling this one "tuition fits, fees missing" rather than "published price fits," and here's why: Enlightium's own tuition page says enrollment and re-enrollment fees are not included. A custom payment plan also adds $100. Until the full required-fee total is in writing, we won't call it a clean fit.

Tennessee requires a registered school to have a physical location in the state where students can receive services, and EFS students in grades 3-11 must test each year. For any virtual school, ask: Where in Tennessee can my child receive required in-person services, and where will my child take the annual test?

Virstone Preparatory Academy

Virstone's current page calls its Tennessee voucher option tuition-free for eligible families. Its FAQ still shows a 2025-26 tuition-and-fee total of $7,870.

Those two pages do not give you a current itemized 2026-27 answer. Until the school sends a current total showing what EFS pays and what the family pays, we're marking this unconfirmed — no badge, no green check. A promise on a webpage isn't a quote.

Price isn't the only question with online school

We'd be doing you a disservice if we let a low number end the conversation. Before you pick an online school on cost, get answers on:

• How much live teaching there is, versus recorded or self-paced work
• How much of the day you have to run
• Which grades and Tennessee students the school is accepting
• Where required testing and any in-person services happen
• Whether the diploma and credits transfer where you need them to
• Who provides the computer and internet connection
• What happens if your child falls behind
• What the refund rules are if it doesn't work out

Comparing online options? Start with the 14 virtual entries in the current Tennessee EFS school guide, then ask each school for its EFS-specific package and written family balance.

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How much is the award, and when does the money actually show up?

Answer: The Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship is $7,530 per student for the 2026-27 school year, up from $7,295 in 2025-26. It equals Tennessee's TISA base per-pupil funding amount, so it can change when the state's school-funding formula changes. The handbook gives a 50% / 20% / 20% / 10% portal schedule, and the live state page labels all four 2026-27 dates projected.

That uneven split is a big deal and almost nobody mentions it. Seventy percent is projected to be in the portal by October 15, and 90% by January 15.

The money does not land in your bank account. It is managed in the online portal, which pays schools and handles approved Marketplace purchases.

But August 15 might still be late for you

Here's the part the schedule doesn't fix.

Tennessee schools can start and bill before August 15. Your school sets its own billing dates in the contract you sign with it — and the state is not part of that contract. The handbook says the department cannot void a private contract, give legal advice, or arrange your payment schedule.

So if your school's first payment is due in July and the first portal disbursement is projected for August 15, you may have a timing problem even at a school with no annual tuition gap.

Ask your school one question: "What must I pay before the first EFS portal disbursement, and will you wait for the portal?" Get the answer in writing before you sign.

If you leave partway through the year

The handbook prorates the scholarship against a 180-day school year. At the full $7,530 award, that is $41.83 per enrolled day. If EFS paid more tuition than the prorated amount, the school must return the excess to the student's EFS account.

When the school's page and the state disagree

Use the current state source for program facts and the school source for that school's price.

Budget from $7,530. Then ask your school which number it used to build your invoice. If it says anything else, that's your first conversation.

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Which fees can EFS never pay?

Answer: Tennessee EFS funds must go to tuition and required school fees first. After that, approved uses include textbooks, curriculum, instructional materials, uniforms, approved academic summer and after-school programs, licensed tutoring, commercial transportation, exam fees, approved therapies, and one computer or device per student per year through the portal. EFS cannot pay for food, childcare, summer camp, athletic and extracurricular fees, consumable supplies, field trips, personal transportation, or late fees.

Here's the whole thing in one table. Print it if it helps.

The sports line is the one that surprises Tennessee families most. If your school bundles athletics into a required activity fee, ask for an itemized bill and written confirmation of what the portal will accept — because the athletic part is still on you.

The same issue appears in our price sample. Standifer Gap's fee bundle includes field trips and classroom supplies. St. Mary's bundle includes cafeteria costs and supplies. Their published totals are real, but the family's true EFS-paid total depends on itemization.

The technology rules also catch people. You can't just buy a laptop and assume EFS will repay you. The purchase has to follow the program's approved portal process, and the account may buy no more than one device per student per year.

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How do I figure out my own tuition gap?

Answer: Add the exact tuition for your child's grade and track, add the required fees EFS can pay, subtract $7,530, and then add every required cost EFS cannot pay. Keep optional costs and every fee you can't confirm on separate lines, so a zero doesn't hide a bill you haven't found yet.

Four numbers. That's it.

EFS-payable school cost = tuition + EFS-payable required fees

Scholarship gap = EFS-payable school cost − $7,530, but never less than $0

Required outside-EFS cost = required sports, food, field trips, consumable supplies, personal transportation, and other unallowed charges

Minimum family cost = scholarship gap + required outside-EFS cost

A real one, worked out

Metro Christian Academy, grades 6-12, new student registering at the later rate:

Tuition                       $6,500
Entrance test                 $  100
Registration                  $  250
Comprehensive fee             $  520
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Total known school cost       $7,370
The award                     $7,530
                              ------
Published room left           $  160

Now add five required polos at $18 each. That's $90. Uniforms are an approved expense after tuition and required fees, so the remaining EFS balance could cover them through the approved process. You're down to $70.

Now imagine a $150 sports fee. EFS can't touch it. You're writing a $150 check — at a school whose published tuition-and-fee total fit. We used $150 because that is the current per-sport fee published by Revolution Christian Academy; it is an example here, not a posted Metro fee.

That's the whole lesson of this page in one example.

Four ways people get this wrong

1. Using the wrong grade. "Elementary tuition" isn't your number if your child's grade is priced separately.
2. Using the full-time price for a hybrid student, or vice versa.
3. Subtracting financial aid before it's approved. Keep aid as a separate scenario until you have the award letter.
4. Using a stale discount or early-registration rate after its deadline has passed.

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Does my county even have an EFS school?

Answer: Only 41 of Tennessee's 95 counties have at least one in-person EFS-registered school on the July 13, 2026 list. That leaves 54 counties with none. Thirteen counties have exactly one in-person registered school. Tennessee also lists 14 virtual-school entries, but families still need to confirm grade coverage, enrollment, Tennessee service access, testing, and EFS billing with each school.

We counted this ourselves, county by county, off the state's official list. Here's what the map actually looks like.

The 13 one-school counties are Anderson, Cannon, Cheatham, Claiborne, Coffee, Dickson, Hickman, Humphreys, Jefferson, Lincoln, Loudon, Tipton, and Trousdale.

The Department's May 7 release contains one conflict we will not smooth over. Its summary says scholarships were awarded to students in 93 counties. The body says applications came from 93 counties. The state has not published a county-by-county award table on that page, so the 93-county figure cannot safely be joined to the 41-county school count. The available source does not prove how many counties had funded families but no local school.

The map problem is still real without that inference. Fifty-four counties have no in-person school on the current registered list, and nearly three-fifths of all entries sit in five counties.

And remember the transportation rule: EFS can pay a commercial bus or van service. It cannot pay you to drive your own child. So "there's a school one county over" can mean an hour of driving, twice a day, on your own dime.

If you're in a one-school county, look hard at that one school's grade range and actual price before you plan around it. Anderson County families have one listed in-person option, and its Catholic-rate published total leaves a $4,200 gap before aid.

If your county has none, you have three honest options:

1. A registered virtual school. Tennessee lists 14. Confirm that the school accepts your child's grade and can serve your family under EFS.
2. A school in a neighboring county, with a real transportation plan and a real cost for it.
3. A tuition-free public option — your zoned school, a district transfer, a public charter, or a public virtual school. Public charter schools are free public schools, not private schools, and they don't involve EFS at all.

Not sure what is on the current list? Use the Tennessee EFS registered-school guide, then verify the school's grade, seat, price, and transportation plan directly.

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What if the school costs more than $7,530?

Answer: The amount above $7,530 is your starting estimated family gap, but the final number can change with school-funded financial aid, sibling discounts, or payment-method discounts — none of which should be counted until they're approved in writing. Tennessee sets no cap on private school tuition, so a registered school can charge any amount and bill the family for the difference.

Not every gap is the same size problem. Here's how we'd think about it:

These are our editorial bands, not state categories.

Ask about school aid — separately

School-funded financial aid is a different thing from EFS, and it stacks differently at every school. When you ask, get these answers:

• Is there an application, and has the deadline passed?
• Is the award guaranteed or up to the school's discretion?
• Does it apply before or after EFS?
• Does it renew automatically?

The Tennessee sources we reviewed do not set one statewide rule for how a school's own aid must interact with EFS. So ask the question directly: "What would my bill be with EFS, and what would it have been without it?" Get both numbers. If they're the same, great. If they're not, you've learned something important.

A payment plan doesn't lower the price

Monthly payments change when you pay, not how much. A $12,000 school broken into ten payments is still a $12,000 school.

When to walk away

We'll say the thing most sites won't. EFS may be the wrong path for your family if:

• You can't absorb a bill you can't pin down in advance
• Your child needs services the school hasn't confirmed in writing
• You'd need transportation the school doesn't provide
• The only price that fits requires a church membership you don't have
• You want a genuinely tuition-free option

If any of those describe you, a public charter school, a district transfer, or a public virtual school may serve your child better and cost you nothing. That's not a consolation prize. For a lot of families it's the right answer.

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How do I get the real number in writing?

Answer: Ask the school for a written 2026-27 cost estimate for your child's exact grade and program, listing tuition, every required fee, what the school will bill through EFS, and what the family pays separately. Tennessee registration does not require a school to admit your child or accept EFS for every grade it serves, so confirm admission and program eligibility in the same conversation.

This is the single highest-value thing on this page. Five questions. One email. One answer you can actually budget from.

The five questions

1. What's the complete 2026-27 tuition and required-fee total for my child's exact grade and program?
2. Which of those charges will you bill through Tennessee EFS, and will you itemize any bundled food, sports, field-trip, supply, or other unallowed costs?
3. Which required charges do I pay outside of EFS?
4. Does this price depend on membership, financial aid, a discount, a sibling, a payment method, or an enrollment date?
5. After EFS is applied, what exact amount will my family owe — and when is each payment due?

Copy and paste this

Subject: Written 2026-27 EFS cost estimate — grade [X] Hi, We're considering [school] for our child entering grade [X] in [program or track]. Could you send a written total for 2026-27 that lists tuition, every required fee, what the school will bill through Tennessee EFS, any bundled charge EFS will not pay, and the exact amount we'd pay separately? Please also let me know if the price depends on membership, financial aid, payment method, or enrollment date — and when our first payment is due. Thanks so much, [Name]

You're not being difficult. You're being a parent. Any school that expects your signature on a tuition contract should be able to tell you what the contract costs.

Confirm these too, while you have them

Being on the state list is not the same as being admitted. Ask:

• Are you accepting applications for this grade?
• Is there an open seat right now?
• Do you accept EFS for this specific grade and track? (The state doesn't require schools to accept it for every grade they serve.)
• What's the deadline, and what money is non-refundable?

Take the script with you. Save these five questions, send the email to your top two schools, and compare the written answers side by side. That's your real shortlist.

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Who actually got a scholarship this year?

Answer: Tennessee received 56,440 EFS applications for 2026-27 and, in its May 7 announcement, said all 35,000 available scholarships were reserved and awaiting family acceptance. The same announcement listed 17,735 applications on a waitlist and a 99% renewal rate. The priority counts were 18,553 in Priority 1, 3,970 in Priority 2, 9,360 in Priority 3, and 3,117 in Priority 4.

Now here's something we noticed that we haven't seen anyone else point out.

Add the first four rows: 18,553 + 3,970 + 9,360 + 3,117 = exactly 35,000. The entire cap announced on May 7.

Which means Priority 5 received none of the 35,000 reservations in that snapshot. Zero. Every announced reservation was gone before the count reached that group.

If you're planning for the next cycle, that's one of the most useful findings on this page: submit every valid document that places your child in a higher priority. This does not guarantee a scholarship. But in the May 7, 2026 reservation data, Priority 5 received zero.

We also checked the state's own 81% claim. New reservations were 35,000 minus 18,553 renewals, or 16,447. Priorities 2 and 3 took 13,330 of them. That's 81.05%. The state's rounded figure holds up.

One loose end we'll flag honestly: 56,440 applications, minus 35,000 reserved, minus 17,735 waitlisted, leaves 3,705 applications the announcement doesn't place in either group. They may include denied, incomplete, withdrawn, duplicate, or otherwise closed applications. The announcement doesn't say, and we're not going to guess.

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What if I'm on the waitlist, or didn't get one at all?

Answer: In the Tennessee Department of Education's May 7, 2026 snapshot, 17,735 applications remained on the EFS waitlist for processing as seats became available. The live application page says the 2026-27 window closed on February 6, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. CT. The 2026-27 handbook and FAQ still show January 30, so the official sources conflict; the live application page is the current operational source.

We're not going to manufacture urgency here. There's nothing to apply for today, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.

What's actually true:

• The state said waitlisted applications would be processed as seats became available.
• The next application dates are not posted on the current page yet. Use the live Tennessee application page when the next cycle is announced.
• The program expanded again for 2026-27. Existing law would have allowed a 25,000-scholarship maximum in year two after strong demand. Public Chapter 963 raised the 2026-27 maximum to 35,000 — 15,000 above the inaugural 20,000.
• Future growth is not a promise to any one family. It still depends on the law, appropriations, available scholarships, eligibility, priority, and application timing for that year.

What to do between now and the next window:

1. Gather every valid priority document now, including income, SNAP/TANF, ESA, IEA, public-school enrollment, or kindergarten records that apply to your child.
2. Build your school shortlist while you have time, using the table and the five-question script.
3. Re-check tuition before the next cycle. Prices move.
4. Compare Tennessee's separate ESA and IEA programs if your child may qualify. A student can only participate in one of the three programs at a time.

Use the state's own EFS application page for the next dates. Don't trust a third-party page's dates, ours included — check the source.

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Can I use Tennessee EFS to homeschool?

Answer: No. Tennessee EFS funds can only be used while a student is enrolled in an EFS-registered Category I, II, or III non-public school located in Tennessee. An independent home school is not an EFS-registered non-public school, and church-related umbrella programs outside those eligible categories cannot receive EFS funds for a home-school student.

This one catches a lot of people, and we want to be blunt about it because getting it wrong wastes months.

You may have read about a family in another state buying curriculum with scholarship money at the kitchen table. Tennessee's EFS program doesn't work that way. The child has to be enrolled in a registered private school. That's the whole design.

Two clarifications, because this is where the confusion lives:

• Category I, II, and III are Tennessee classifications for non-public schools. Those are the categories the EFS program allows to register.
• A home-school umbrella relationship is not enough by itself. The child's actual EFS enrollment has to be with a registered eligible private school.

Now, if what you actually want is a structured program your child does from home with a registered school behind it, that's not independent homeschooling in the legal sense and it may work. Tennessee lists 14 virtual-school entries for 2026-27. Your child would be enrolled with the school, and the school would hold the records and handle its school duties.

If flexible, at-home learning is what you're after, start with the online-school section above and the current Tennessee EFS school guide. Then confirm grade, seat, teaching model, testing, and the written EFS balance.

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What happens to my child's IEP or 504 plan?

Answer: Under Tennessee's EFS application assurances, participating has the same effect as a parent refusing IDEA services. A public-school IEP is not effective while the student participates, and the student is not entitled to a free appropriate public education through that IEP. The student may instead be eligible for equitable services through an Individual Service Plan, but there is no entitlement to any particular service.

Please read this section twice if it applies to your child. It's the highest-stakes thing on this page.

Here's the plain-English version.

An IEP is a promise. In public school, the district must provide the special-education and related services required for the child to receive a free appropriate public education.

A services plan is not the same promise. A parentally placed private-school student may receive some equitable services through an Individual Service Plan, depending on the district's consultation process and the federal funds set aside for private-school students. The child is not entitled to every service from the old IEP.

When you accept EFS and enroll in the private school, you move from the first legal setup to the second.

A few more specifics:

• Private schools don't have to follow IDEA. Registration in EFS doesn't change that.
• Section 504 plans may or may not carry over. A private school is required to follow Section 504 only if it receives federal funding.
• You can return to public school. The handbook says the prior IEP can only be used again by leaving EFS and re-enrolling in public school. The public-school special-education process and duties then apply again.
• Leaving EFS closes the account. Any remaining scholarship balance returns to the State Treasurer.

Before you enroll anywhere, get the school to put this in writing: what services it actually provides, who delivers them, whether they're included in tuition or cost extra, and what it does not provide.

And a hard truth: a school with a $0 tuition gap is not a financial match if you have to buy the services your child needs to succeed there. We'd rather you know that now.

Tennessee also runs a separate program called the Individualized Education Account (IEA), built for students with certain disabilities. A student can only participate in one program at a time, so it's worth comparing before you commit.

Read the disability section of the state's 2026-27 EFS Family Handbook before you decide. It is the first source we'd give any parent whose child has an IEP or 504 plan.

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Is Tennessee EFS tied up in court?

Answer: Tennessee EFS is being challenged in court, but we found no public merits ruling or injunction that stopped the 2026-27 program as of August 12, 2026. The constitutional complaint was filed on November 20, 2025. The latest public order we found, dated July 10, 2026, only allowed a group of parents to join the case as intervenor-defendants. It did not decide whether EFS is constitutional.

That distinction matters.

A lawsuit exists. That is a verified fact families should know. But "there is a lawsuit" does not mean "the scholarship has been canceled." Tennessee is still operating the 2026-27 program, has reserved the 35,000 scholarships it announced, and lists projected portal disbursement dates.

We will update this section if a court enters a merits ruling, injunction, dismissal, or other order that changes what families can actually do.

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Did any schools leave the program this year?

Answer: Four schools listed for Tennessee EFS in 2025-26 do not appear on the 2026-27 list: Templeton Academy in Davidson County, Bethel Christian Academy in Hamilton County, Emmanuel United Methodist Kindergarten in Shelby County, and Primrose School of Mt. Juliet in Wilson County. School registration is annual, so a school on last year's list is not automatically on this year's.

We found these by lining up the state's two published lists and comparing them row by row.

Fifty-four schools joined. Four left. Using our 241-row count of the prior list, the current list grew to 291 — about a 21% jump in one year after accounting for renames and campus-row changes.

Two of the four that left are plainly early-childhood programs. EFS is for eligible K-12 enrollment, not pre-K.

That points at something worth knowing about the number 291. We counted 12 current rows whose names plainly suggest a preschool, kindergarten, early-learning, or similar early-childhood focus, including seven Primrose locations. A name is not a grade list, so do not remove them from the count on the name alone. But do confirm that the school serves your child's eligible grade and accepts EFS for that grade.

Stack that with a line straight out of the state handbook — registered schools are not required to accept EFS funds for every grade they serve — and here's the honest read: 291 is the number of registered entries, not the number of schools available to your child. For a seventh grader, the real list is shorter.

Whatever school you're considering, check the current-year list. Not a screenshot, not a printout, not last year's PDF. The current one.

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How we built this, and what we actually checked

Answer: We transcribed Tennessee's two published EFS school lists, counted them in code, and priced individual schools using each school's own current tuition page or fee schedule. All gap figures on this page are our calculations against the state's published $7,530 award. We label missing, bundled, and conflicting information rather than estimating it.

What we actually verified

We matched every school on this page against the Tennessee Department of Education's official 2026-27 registered-school list, updated July 13, 2026. We read the 2026-27 EFS Family Handbook, the State Board rule, the live program and application pages, the FAQ, the May 7 program announcement, and the current expansion law. For pricing, we used each school's own published tuition page or fee sheet. We separated tuition from listed required charges, recorded the grade, track, membership status, and payment choice tied to each price, and recalculated every result against $7,530. We did not use tuition figures from school directories or ranking sites. No school on this page has given us a written, grade-specific cost quote. Until one does, no row here is marked as a confirmed $0 family balance — and you shouldn't treat it as one.

The count, and how you can repeat it

We counted the state's list because we needed a denominator.

The 2026-27 list has 291 entries. That matches the state's stated total exactly.

The prior list contains 241 visible school rows, while the state's sentence on that page says 240. We therefore use 241 only when describing our own row-by-row comparison, and we show the arithmetic instead of hiding the mismatch.

We diffed the two lists: 62 rows added and 12 removed before normalizing five straightforward renames, one school whose two campus rows merged into one, and one school whose single row split into two campus rows. That leaves 54 genuine joins and 4 genuine exits.

241 + 54 − 4 = 291
240 + 54 − 4 = 290

The arithmetic closes at 241. That does not change the state's current 291 total.

The five normalized renames: St. Ann School became St. Ann Catholic School in Davidson County. Winchester Christian Academy became Winchester Christian in Franklin County. The Little Country Schoolhouse dropped "The" in Montgomery County. St. Mary School – Johnson City became St. Mary's Catholic School in Washington County. Gateway Academy at the Learning Lab became Gateway Academy in Williamson County.

Our rules for the price table

• School's own source only. No directories, ranking sites, or aggregators.
• Annual totals, not a monthly amount presented as though it were the whole year.
• Grade, track, membership, and payment choice stay attached to the price.
• Discounts don't count until their conditions are met. Financial aid stays a separate scenario.
• A missing fee is labeled missing. We never fill a blank with an estimate.
• Bundled fees get flagged. If a bundle includes an expense Tennessee bars, the family needs an itemized answer.
• Every row carries a visible verification date.
• No row publishes without a county or virtual label. Tennessee has repeated school names, and mixing campuses is how bad data gets born.

When sources disagree

We show the conflict instead of picking the cleaner-looking answer.

• Virstone says tuition-free on one current page but still shows a 2025-26 total in its FAQ.
• Revolution's current tuition page uses stale state award and seat figures.
• Tennessee's live application page says the 2026-27 window closed February 6, while the handbook and FAQ say January 30.
• Tennessee's May 7 release says "awarded in 93 counties" in its summary and "applications from 93 counties" in the body.
• The prior state school-list page says 240 while its visible rows count to 241.

We would rather tell you that than hand you a clean number we can't stand behind.

Found something wrong?

Prices change. Schools update fee sheets. State pages get corrected. If you have a current first-party tuition page or fee schedule that contradicts something here, send it to us. We'll verify it, update the row, change the visible verification date, and log the correction.

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What parents are actually saying

These are public comments from Tennessee parents, collected to show what families are worried about. They're not evidence of any school's price, any program rule, or any typical outcome — just real people describing the same problem this page is trying to solve.

One parent, on what private school costs before any scholarship:

"don't know many regular folks who have 5k laying around"

Another, on the cheaper options still not being free:

"would still require families to shell out $2,000 or more annually"

And one that stuck with us, from a family who got the scholarship and still walked away:

"they were raising tuition. Back to public school we go."

That last one is the exact outcome this page is built to prevent. Not because the family made a bad call — they didn't. Because they found out too late.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, announcing the 2026-27 results in May, thanked families who applied and participating schools for their partnership, and pointed to the state's commitment to giving families more options. That's the state's view, and it's fair. Our job is the part that comes after the announcement: what it costs at your school, for your kid, in your grade.

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Frequently asked questions

Is there an income limit for Tennessee EFS? No income cap appears in the basic student-eligibility rule. The student must be a Tennessee resident entitled to attend public school in grades K-12 and be a U.S. citizen or in a qualifying lawful-presence category. Income and other facts affect priority when applications exceed available scholarships — and priority decided all 35,000 reservations in the state's May 7 snapshot.

Does being on the registered list mean the school has to admit my child? No. Registered schools keep their own admissions process, criteria, seat limits, grades, and timelines. EFS doesn't change any of it.

Does registration mean a school accepts EFS for every grade it serves? No. The state handbook says a registered school is not required to accept EFS for every grade it serves.

Can a school charge more than $7,530? Yes. EFS is an award amount, not a tuition cap. Covered tuition and required fees above it are the family's responsibility.

Does a $0 tuition gap include the application fee? Only if the application charge was included in the total and is payable through EFS. Schools may use application, enrollment, registration, testing, and comprehensive fees as separate charges. Ask which apply to you.

Can EFS pay for uniforms? Yes, after tuition and required school fees are covered and through the approved process.

Can EFS pay for my child's sports fees? No. Athletic and extracurricular fees are specifically unallowed.

Can EFS pay for transportation? Only through a commercial fee-for-service provider, like a bus service. It can't pay you, a family member, or the student for driving.

Are online private schools on the registered list? Yes — Tennessee lists 14 virtual-school entries for 2026-27, up from 3 in the prior list. Confirm grade, seat, Tennessee services, testing, and EFS billing directly.

What happens to money I don't use? It stays in the EFS account and rolls into the next year while the child remains eligible and participating. When the child exits for a listed reason — including graduation, public-school enrollment, moving out of Tennessee, or voluntary withdrawal — the remaining balance returns to the State Treasurer.

Do siblings get preference? No. Each child needs a separate application, and a sibling already participating does not create a priority category.

Can I be in EFS and ESA or IEA at the same time? A child may apply to more than one program, but can participate in only one at a time.

Can my school raise tuition after I get the scholarship? Schools set their own prices under their policies and your enrollment contract. Always work from the current tuition schedule and get the final balance in writing before you sign.

What if a school doesn't publish its tuition anywhere? Then nobody outside the school knows the current total, including us. We mark it "price not found" or "unconfirmed." Don't estimate from last year, a directory, or another campus — ask the school.

What if the school says it's tuition-free for voucher families? Ask for an itemized 2026-27 quote showing tuition, required fees, what it will bill through EFS, every charge EFS will not pay, and your balance. A statement on a webpage isn't a quote.

When did 2026-27 applications close? The live Tennessee application page says February 6, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. CT. The handbook and FAQ say January 30. Because the official sources conflict, use the live application page for the closed 2026-27 cycle and the live page again when the next cycle opens.

Is the EFS program blocked by a lawsuit? Not as of our August 12, 2026 verification. A constitutional case is active, but the latest public court order we found only allowed parent intervenors into the case and did not stop the 2026-27 program.

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The bottom line

Tennessee EFS private schools with no tuition gap do exist. We priced 11 registered schools, and eight have at least one published grade, rate, track, or payment choice that fits inside $7,530. The published room left ranges from $160 to $6,391 before unknown, unallowed, or tax charges.

But the number on the table is the start of your answer, not the end of it. The things that decide your real bill — grade, rate, track, payment choice, allowed fees, unallowed charges, and timing — live in a document only the school can send you. Get it in writing. Five questions. One email. One number you can plan around.

And keep the timing in mind. This isn't only a $7,530 question. It's a projected $3,765-in-the-portal-on-August-15 question, against a bill your school might send in July.

If you've read this far, you're already doing the thing most families skip. You didn't have bad instincts about this program. You just had incomplete information.

Use the Gap Check at the top. Then send the five-question email to your top two schools and compare the written answers side by side. For the full state list, use our Tennessee EFS registered-school guide.

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The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs. Schools may pay a flat monthly fee to receive introductions only after a parent selects them. Payment never affects editorial coverage, content, comparison criteria, result order, rankings, badges, verification, or placement. No school paid to appear on this page, and we do not accept per-lead fees or commissions. Award amounts, dates, school lists, admission, seats, and tuition change — verify anything you're about to act on with the Tennessee Department of Education and directly with the school.

Primary sources

Tennessee program and law

• Tennessee EFS program page
• Live EFS application page
• 2026-27 EFS Family Handbook
• Parents and Students page with the 2026-27 registered-school list
• May 7, 2026 TDOE application and reservation announcement
• State Board of Education Rule 0520-01-24
• HB 2532 / Public Chapter 963 bill record

School-price pages checked August 12, 2026

• Penn Foster High School tuition
• ArchwayOnline tuition and fees
• Enlightium Academy 2026-27 tuition
• Standifer Gap SDA School tuition and fees
• Revolution Christian Academy tuition
• Metro Christian Academy admissions and fees
• Dayspring Academy K-12 admissions
• Ooltewah Adventist School tuition
• Lester Coon Adventist School 2026-27 tuition sheet
• St. Mary School – Oak Ridge 2026-27 tuition sheet
• Virstone Preparatory Academy tuition page and FAQ

Court status

• Young v. Lee complaint filed November 20, 2025
• July 10, 2026 order granting permissive intervention

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