Rutherford Choice

A COMMITMENT TO CHOICE

School choice means giving families access to a variety of K-12 education options for their students.

Rutherford County Schools is committed to ensuring we are responsive to our families’ needs, that our families are engaged as partners, and that students have access to a variety of options. Our school choices include high-quality community schools, specialized academic programs and academic magnet schools, a virtual school program, an MTSU laboratory school, and personalized learning environments.

We encourage you to learn more about our academic offerings, enrichment opportunities, and exceptional choices through this School Selection Guide. Please use this resource to explore all that Rutherford County Schools has to offer.

For more information about school choice in Rutherford County email [email protected] or follow on Twitter @RCSchoice.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCHOOL PROGRAMS USING SCHOOL FINDER

Rutherford County Schools now offers RCS school Finder to provide families with important information about each RCS school and allows for the capability to search for schools by specific programs and offerings.

RCS School Finder: https://rcschools.finder.schoolmint.com

TSSAA TRANSFER RULE

June 3, 2025

The TSSAA recently approved a one-time transfer for middle and high school athletes. The new bylaw allows students one free transfer to another school because of reasons of significant academic, social-emotional, environmental or mental health need if the sending school’s administration can attest the move is not for athletic purposes.

The TSSAA one-time transfer rule can only be used during the time designated by Rutherford County Schools during the Choice School Open Seats Application and Lottery Process. Any approvals of applications submitted are based upon the availability of seats and will be awarded via random lottery process.

The next available dates for all Rutherford County parents to have an opportunity to participate will be December 31, 2025, to January 31, 2026, which will be the application window for the 2026-2027 school year.

2025-2026 CHOICE SCHOOL OPEN SEATS - APPLICATION AND LOTTERY PROCESS

The application window for those wishing to apply for a zone exemption / choice seat for the 2025-2026 school year has closed. Pursuant to state law and School Board policy, Rutherford County Schools must use a random lottery to decide how open seats are distributed. The school district advertises available seats, accepts applications, and then uses a random lottery.

FIRST ROUND - Application deadline was Dec. 31, 2025
Rutherford County Schools previously offered a lottery process for at least 10 choice seats (zone exemptions) at all zoned schools. Applications for the lottery were accepted Dec. 1, 2024-Jan. 31, 2025. The lottery for those seats has already been completed, and parents have been notified if their children earned a slot or were placed on a waiting list.

SECOND ROUND - Applications deadline was April 4, 2025
For any remaining seats, Rutherford County Schools accepted applications from March 3-April 4, 2025. A random lottery was used to select the recipients of those available seats. Parents have been notified if their children earned a slot or were placed on a waiting list.

2025-2026 HIGH SCHOOL DUAL ZONE APPLICATIONS - DEADLINE JAN. 31, 2025

For parents of high school students who have been rezoned from Rockvale High, Riverdale High, Smyrna High or Blackman High only, the School Board has approved a dual zone for your student. The deadline to submit at application was Jan. 31, 2025.

CHOICE SCHOOL APPLICATIONS FOR MAGNET SCHOOLS AND OTHER NON-ZONED SCHOOLS

Rutherford County Schools accepted applications for magnet schools and other non-zoned schools through Jan. 31, 2025.

Those applications were for parents wishing to apply for a seat at Central Magnet School, Holloway High School, Homer Pittard Campus School, McFadden School of Excellence, the Rutherford County Virtual School, and Thurman Francis Arts Academy. Parents have been notified if their children earned a slot or were placed on a waiting list.