Public schools across the nation are facing declining enrollments, and Tennessee is no exception. With years of modest growth, the pandemic led to an enrollment decline of over 2.5 percent from 2020 to 2021, resulting in more than 24,000 students leaving the public school system. Enrollment has not returned to prepandemic levels, and with a myriad of other factors, public school enrollments will likely continue to struggle.
Disenrollment trends on a national level were accelerated by the pandemic. School closures drove many parents to find alternative education options. Homeschooling skyrocketed from three percent before the pandemic to nearly 11 percent in 2021. While homeschooling has slightly decreased with the pandemic behind us, it still boasts around 10 percent of America’s total student population, well above prepandemic levels. In addition to homeschooling and families choosing other education options, birthrates have also hit a historic low after years of decline.
Public schools are facing a list of fewer children, other education options, poor test scores from schools, and Americans’ satisfaction with the public education system at a 24-year low, leading to enrollment declines in Tennessee and across the country. Despite declining enrollment occurring all across the nation, recent news reports have claimed that the problem is specific to Tennessee because of the state’s new Education Freedom Scholarships (EFS) program. Not only do these accusations wrongly place blame, many critics simply get the basics of the EFS program wrong. Let’s set the record straight.
Claim: School choice programs, like Education Freedom Scholarships, are the cause for public school enrollment declines.
Fact: Public school enrollment declines are occurring all across the nation, in both states with and without school choice programs. Disapproval of public schools and declining birth rates are playing a major role. Tennessee saw enrollment declines before the EFS program passed in 2025, and public school enrollment has not returned to prepandemic levels. This enrollment decline is also taking place at the college level, with institutions responding to this demographic decline.
Claim: Education Freedom Scholarships are cash that can be used for homeschooling.
Fact: The EFS program does not provide cash to parents and is explicitly prohibited from being used for homeschooling. EFS funds, first and foremost, must be used for an approved nonpublic school tuition before they can be used for other education options, like tutoring, therapy, or textbooks. These are education dollars with stipulations that must go to a student’s education, not cash for whatever a parent chooses to spend it on.
Claim: The EFS program defunds public education.
Fact: Tennessee has made historic investments in public schools in recent years, with funding increasing by nearly 43 percent from 2020 to 2024, all while enrollment declined. The EFS program goes even further, providing a funding floor for public schools, meaning they will not receive less funding than the preceding year, even if enrollment declines. This means there will be more funds per student for every public school student if enrollment declines for any reason, EFS program or otherwise.
Claim: The EFS program redirects funds away from public schools.
Fact: No one says funding for roads or bridges is redirecting public school funding, but that is what this claim is essentially saying. The program does not redirect or take from public school funding. EFS funds are separate from the state’s education funding formula for public schools.
Claim: EFS participants receive more money than public school students.
Fact: The EFS program provides only a portion of the funding a public school student receives. The program is wholly funded through state funds, while public school students receive state, local, and federal funding. Each scholarship is valued at $7,295, which pales in comparison to public school students who are funded at around $13,000 each, with some districts spending as much as $22,000 per student.
Enrollment declines have been happening for the past few years for public schools across the country and are not a 2025 phenomenon. Blaming the decrease on a single state program that offers 20,000 children an opportunity for a school that suits them better deflects from the reality of declining birth rates, dissatisfaction with public schools, home education, and many other factors. The EFS program may be the scapegoat, but it’s in no way the culprit.
