Category I, II, III, IV or V: which Memphis schools the state will pay

Last verified: October 2026

What do Tennessee's five private school categories mean?

They are five separate routes to legal approval, and we will call them doors. Door I is a direct TDOE approval that requires licensed teachers (I-SP is a version for students in treatment or temporary care); door II runs through an accrediting body the State Board recognizes; door III runs through a regional accreditor, and Cognia and SAIS are the names most Memphis schools list; door IV is membership in a church-school association written into state law; door V is a second direct application to TDOE with lighter teacher rules.

Whatever the door, a school still screens its employees, teaches a full 180-day year and files an enrollment count with the district each fall.

Which categories can take EFS and ESA money in Memphis?

Doors I, II and III are the only ones that lead to EFS or ESA money, and even then EFS wants a campus in Tennessee plus a fresh registration each year while the ESA runs its own approval. The IEA is the exception that accepts all five.

Counting the 103 Shelby, Tipton and Fayette entries in the state's 2026-27 directory: 75 carry an eligible label (I, II or III, sometimes alongside IV), 19 carry IV alone and 9 carry V.

Does accreditation make a Memphis school EFS-eligible automatically?

No. An accreditor's seal is how a school earns label II or III, yet the EFS list is a separate sign-up that every school repeats annually; the 2027-28 sign-up period starts November 16, 2026 and ends April 30, 2027. A school approved under door I can sign up with no accreditor at all.

In this directory, 14 schools hold an eligible category but were not on the 2026-27 EFS list.

What is the next step for a Memphis family?

Spend two minutes on the funding check, and a counselor will call back with the program that fits, its dollar value and the next deadline.

Start the funding check →