Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-6-3504

Current as of January 02, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) For the 2025-2026 school year, the department shall award a maximum of twenty thousand (20,000) scholarships, to be awarded as follows, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications:

(1) Ten thousand (10,000) scholarships are available for eligible students who meet one (1) of the following criteria:

(A) The student's annual household income does not exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service; or

(B) The student is an eligible student as defined in § 49-6-2602 or § 49-10-1402; and

(2) Ten thousand (10,000) scholarships are available for eligible students, regardless of whether the eligible student meets one (1) of the criteria listed in subdivision (a)(1).

(b) Subject to the funds appropriated for scholarships together with any available funds returned to the state treasurer pursuant to § 49-6-3506, if the number of applications received by the department during a program application period:

(1) Exceeds seventy-five percent (75%) of the total number of scholarships available for the respective school year, then the department may increase the maximum number of scholarships available for the next school year by no more than five thousand (5,000) additional scholarships; or

(2) Does not exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the total number of scholarships available for the respective school year, then the maximum number of scholarships available for the next school year must remain the same as the maximum number of scholarships available for the prior school year.

(c)(1) For the 2026-2027 school year, if the number of applications received by the department exceeds the number of scholarships available for the respective school year, then the department shall award scholarships in the following order:

(A) An eligible student who received a scholarship in the immediately preceding school year;

(B) An eligible student whose annual household income does not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service, or an eligible student who is an eligible student as defined in § 49-6-2602 or § 49-10-1402, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications;

(C) An eligible student whose annual household income does not exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications;

(D) An eligible student who, at the time of submitting a completed application, is currently enrolled in a public school, or who is eligible to enroll in kindergarten in a public school for the respective school year, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications; and

(E) An eligible student, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications.

(2) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, the department shall award scholarships in the following order:

(A) An eligible student who received a scholarship in the immediately preceding year, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications;

(B) If scholarships remain available after all eligible students described in subdivision (c)(2)(A) receive a scholarship, then an eligible student whose annual household income does not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service, or an eligible student who is an eligible student as defined in § 49-6-2602 or § 49-10-1402, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications;

(C) If scholarships remain available after all eligible students described in subdivision (c)(2)(B) receive a scholarship, then an eligible student whose annual household income does not exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications;

(D) If scholarships remain available after all eligible students described in subdivision (c)(2)(C) receive a scholarship, then an eligible student whose annual household income exceeds three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service who, at the time of submitting a completed scholarship application, is currently enrolled in a public school or is eligible to enroll in kindergarten in a public school for the respective school year, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications; and

(E) If scholarships remain available after all eligible students described in subdivision (c)(2)(D) receive a scholarship, then an eligible student whose annual household income exceeds three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as provided in the income eligibility guidelines published by the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service, or an eligible student, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications.

(d) In order to receive a scholarship under this part, an eligible student, or the eligible student's parent, must:

(1) Submit a completed scholarship application to the department;

(2) Ensure the provision of an education for the eligible student that satisfies the compulsory school attendance requirement provided in § 49-6-3001(c)(1) through enrollment in a private school; and

(3) Not enroll the eligible student in a kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public school in any school year for which the eligible student receives a scholarship.

(e) The department may award a scholarship to an eligible student in an order that does not comply with the order prescribed in subsection (a) or subsection (c), as applicable, if awarding the scholarship out of order is consistent with the outcome of an administrative appeal adjudicating the denial of the student's scholarship application.

(f) Notwithstanding subsection (b) and subject to appropriation, the department shall make a maximum of thirty-five thousand (35,000) scholarships available to eligible students for the 2026-2027 school year in the order required in subsection (c).

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-6-3504 - last updated January 02, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-49-education/tn-code-sect-49-6-3504/

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