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Homeschooling in Tennessee

A year-round Tennessee homeschool marketplace — curriculum, tutoring, therapy, STEM, arts and enrichment providers, plus a plain-English guide to Tennessee's Education Freedom Scholarship and the accounts homeschoolers can actually use.

Tennessee homeschooling by topic

• Tennessee Homeschool Laws & Requirements
• How to Start Homeschooling in Tennessee
• Tennessee School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships
• Homeschool Sports & Activities in Tennessee
• Dual Enrollment & College for Tennessee Homeschoolers
• Special Needs & Special Education Homeschooling in Tennessee

Education Freedom Scholarship at a glance

• Overseen by: Tennessee Department of Education, under the Education Freedom Act (T.C.A. 49-6-3501 and following) and State Board of Education Rule 0520-01-24
• Administered by: TDOE's Office of Programs and School Choice, through the online EFS portal and Marketplace. Funds go to schools and approved purchases, never to parents.
• Amount per student, 2026–27: $7,530, equal to the base funding amount in Tennessee's TISA school funding formula, paid in quarterly portions (50% in August, 20% in October, 20% in January, 10% in March). Unused money carries forward to the next year.
• Who is eligible: Tennessee residents who are U.S. citizens or lawfully present and entitled to attend public school in grades K–12, with no prior public school or IEP requirement. The student must enroll in an EFS-registered Category I, II or III private school in Tennessee. When there are more applicants than scholarships, awards go by priority: current recipients, then lower-income households (100% and 300% of the free/reduced-price lunch limit, or ESA/IEA eligibility), then current public school students and kindergartners, then everyone else.
• Application window / next dates: The 2026–27 window closed February 6, 2026. TDOE received applications from more than 56,000 families for 35,000 scholarships, and 17,735 applications were waitlisted as of May 2026. The 2027–28 dates haven't been posted. The IEA's 2027–28 window is projected to open February 16, 2027.
• Homeschool status: EFS and the ESA pilot do not fund independent home schools or Category IV/V church-related umbrella schools. The IEA does: an IEA student may be independently homeschooled, enrolled in an umbrella school, or attend a participating private school.

Read the full guide: Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship — A Guide for Homeschool Families

Coming up in Tennessee

• Sat, Oct 17, 2026 – Fri, Nov 20, 2026 · Vanderbilt PTY Mentor Immersion (Grades 7–9): Fall 2026
  Online · Online (Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth) · $550 + $50 application fee
  Mentorship program (Oct 17–Nov 20) with online mentor meetings for academically advanced 7th–9th graders; rolling admission continues if spots remain.
• Wed, Oct 21, 2026 – Wed, Nov 18, 2026 · Creative Discovery Museum Homeschool Programs: Fall Session 2
  Chattanooga · Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St ·
  50 (

  20 members, $50 access members)
  Five-week drop-off STEAM session on Wednesdays (Oct 21, 28, Nov 4, 11, 18), 2–4:30 p.m., with separate primary (K–2), elementary (3–5) and middle (6–8) classes of about 20 students.
• Sat, Oct 24, 2026 – Sat, Nov 7, 2026 · Vanderbilt PTY Fall SAVY Saturday Program
  Nashville · Vanderbilt University, 2201 West End Ave · $475 + $50 application fee
  Three consecutive Saturdays (Oct 24, 31, Nov 7), 8:45 a.m.–3 p.m. with lunch, for eligible advanced students in grades 1–8.
• Thu, Nov 5, 2026 – Sat, Nov 7, 2026 · Covenant College sneakPEAK Preview (multi-day)
  Lookout Mountain, GA · Covenant College, 14049 Scenic Hwy · See organizer
  Multi-day preview with optional overnight Thursday–Friday at the Christian college atop Lookout Mountain, just outside Chattanooga.
• Sat, Nov 7, 2026 · Freed-Hardeman Social Preview Day (Homecoming)
  Henderson · Freed-Hardeman University, 158 E Main St · Free
  Social preview day held during homecoming weekend (registration opens in October).
• Sat, Nov 7, 2026 · SAT Weekend Test Date (November 2026)
  Statewide · SAT test centers across Tennessee · SAT registration fee; late registration costs extra; fee waivers for eligible students
  National SAT weekend administration; registration deadline Oct. 23, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET).
• Sat, Nov 7, 2026 · Fall SAVY 2026, third Saturday session
  Nashville · Vanderbilt University, Programs for Talented Youth · $475 for each session (three Saturdays); $50 non-refundable application fee
  Fall SAVY runs for three consecutive Saturdays for students in grades 1-8, from 8:45 AM to 3:00 PM with lunch provided. The page lists October 24, October 31 and November 7 as the session dates; only the November 7 date falls in this…
• Mon, Nov 9, 2026 – Tue, Nov 10, 2026 · Nashville Zoo Homeschool Days: There's No Place Like Home (Native Animals)
  Nashville · Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, 3777 Nolensville Pike ·