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State Board of Education holds hearing on Education Freedom Scholarship rules
Summary
The Tennessee State Board of Education held a rulemaking hearing on proposed rules to implement the Education Freedom Scholarship program, reviewed draft rule language, invited public comment and announced next steps including a planned final vote at the board's May 30, 2025 quarterly meeting.
The Tennessee State Board of Education held a rulemaking hearing in May 2025 to gather public input on proposed rules for the Education Freedom Scholarship program, which the board says will let students who attend category 1, 2 or 3 private schools apply state scholarship funds toward education expenses.
"EFS is a school choice program that will allow Tennessee students who attend a category 1, 2, or 3 private school as defined in state board rule 0520-07-.02 to access state scholarship funds to apply towards education expenses," said Rachel Soupeh, general counsel for the State Board of Education and the board's designated representative at the hearing.
The proposed rulemaking (identified in the hearing as State Board rule 0520-01-.24) lays out definitions, application and eligibility processes, an appeal procedure and other logistical provisions for administering the program through the Tennessee Department of Education. Soupeh told attendees that private schools enrolling EFS recipients would "retain their autonomy" and that the rules are "narrowly tailored to enforce the requirements of this program." Redline versions of the draft rules are available online and at the hearing.
The hearing was scheduled as an opportunity for the board and staff to collect feedback rather than to answer questions in a back-and-forth format. One online commenter, who identified herself only as Jessica, asked during the public comment period, "I had a question about the amount of the scholarship for each applicant." Soupeh responded that staff could follow up offline with the Tennessee Department of Education to provide that information.
Officials reminded the public that written comments will be accepted by email through 9 a.m. Central on Friday, May 16, 2025, and provided the rulemaking contact address as be.rulemaking.public.comments@tn.gov. Soupeh said the board anticipates voting on final reading of the rules at its quarterly meeting on May 30, 2025; if approved on final reading, the rules will be sent to the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for review, published on the Secretary of State's website for 90 days and heard by the Joint Government Operations Committee of the Tennessee House and Senate.
No formal vote or final action on the proposed rule occurred at the hearing, which the board recorded for members' review. The board adjourned after inviting additional written comments and confirming the next procedural steps for rule adoption.
