How the state's scholarship works, who qualifies, and how Acton TriStar Academy is preparing for it.
If the tuition line is the only thing keeping your family at a school that doesn't fit, Tennessee's Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) just changed the math. EFS gives families about $7,530 per student, per year to use at participating private schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade. Here's how it works, plainly — and how Acton TriStar is preparing for it.
(You'll hear EFS called a school voucher or a school-choice scholarship. Same program: the money follows your child.)
Passed in February 2025, EFS is Tennessee's statewide school-choice program. It's not a loan, it's not taxable income, and it doesn't go through your bank — the state pays participating schools directly, quarterly.
Tuition and fees come first. Whatever remains can pay for books, uniforms, tutoring, transportation, exams, therapies, and technology. Anything you don't use rolls forward, year to year, as long as your child stays enrolled. The amount (about $7,530 for 2026–27) adjusts annually with the state's base education funding.
Your child must be a Tennessee resident in grades K–12 (the program doesn't cover pre-K) and a US citizen or lawfully present. When applications exceed capacity, the state prioritizes in this order:
Based on the state's timeline this year: new-family applications open in mid-January and close at the end of the month. You can be conditionally approved before you've chosen a school — then you select your EFS school in the state's online portal, and the school confirms enrollment by June 30. The state's EFS page posts each year's exact dates.
Acton TriStar is a Category III accredited non-public school, accredited by MSA-CESS — the Middle States Association's Commission on Elementary & Secondary Schools. Category III is a category Tennessee accepts for EFS participation, and one you can verify yourself on the state's approved schools list — we're the "Acton Tristar Academy" entry in Maury County (the state spells it as one word). We are preparing to welcome EFS-funded learners beginning in the 2027–28 school year and will complete the state's EFS school registration when the 2027–28 window opens this November. This page will be updated the moment our registration is confirmed.
No. The law leaves a participating school's curriculum, values, and admissions process intact — Acton stays Acton. The one addition for scholarship families comes from Tennessee, not from TriStar: by state EFS rules, learners in grades 3–11 take a nationally standardized achievement test (or TCAP math and reading) each year. Exactly how that works at our school is one of the things we'll walk you through on your tour.
No. It isn't counted as income, and you won't get a 1099 for it.
Yes. Currently enrolled private-school families fall later in the priority order than public-school families, so if you plan to apply, do it the day the window opens in January.
No — those are separate Tennessee programs with separate applications. EFS is the statewide one, open to families in every county, including Maury and Williamson.
Come see the school. Decisions this big shouldn't be made from a website — tour a studio, meet the guides, and watch your child's reaction. Then, when January's application window opens, we'll walk beside you, step by step.
Your next step: schedule a tour below. Tours run Monday–Wednesday at 3:00pm, after school.