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 RCS School Finder. 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 OUR 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 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026, which will be the application window for the 2026-2027 school year.

2026-2027 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.

Applications for all 2026-2027 open choice seats will be accepted Dec. 1, 2025 through Jan. 31, 2026. This includes applications for Central Magnet School, McFadden School of Excellence, Thurman Francis Arts Academy, Homer Pittard Campus School and Oakland High School's International Baccalaureate program.
Applications for Holloway High School, the Rutherford County Virtual School and RCS-authorized charter schools open on Dec. 1, 2025 and will remain open year-round. Please note, the Rutherford County Board of Education has adopted a new policy that requires that parents applying to one of these schools must be residents of Rutherford County at the time of application.
The 2026-2027 application for the LaVergne High School Early College program will be accepted Dec. 1, 2025 through March 15, 2026 to allow for the submission of ACT scores as required.
Each traditional RCS school has 10 available seats for open choice school applications.
If your child is a current RCS student, you will need their OTHER ID, which is found on the main page of your Skyward account.

Secondary Deadline: Requests will be accepted for any remaining seats at open choice and advanced academic schools through April 1, 2026.

Those selected for a seat for an academic magnet school will be notified during March. In all cases, parents have until April 1, 2026, to confirm they are accepting a seat for a student. Secondary seat offers must be accepted within 10 days.

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.

HAVE YOU ALREADY BEEN APPROVED FOR A CHOICE SEAT/ZONE EXEMPTION?

Once you have been approved for a zone exemption/choice seat, it remains in effect until you leave that school -- no need to reapply.

2026-2027 HIGH SCHOOL DUAL ZONE APPLICATIONS - DEADLINE JAN. 31, 2026

For parents of high school students who were rezoned from Rockvale High, Riverdale High, Smyrna High or Blackman High during the 2025-2026 academic year, the School Board has approved a dual zone for your student.

NOTE: If you wish to return to your previously zoned school, you must submit a dual zone application by Jan. 31, 2026. If you were approved for a 2025-2026 dual zone exemption, there is no need to reapply.

2026-2027 PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

Central Magnet School - Nov. 17, 6 p.m.

Thurman Francis Arts Academy - Nov. 18, 6 p.m.

Oakland High School International Baccalaureate - Nov. 18, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

McFadden School of Excellence - Nov. 20, 6 p.m.

EMPLOYEE ZONE EXEMPTION REQUESTS

Employees are permitted to obtain a zone exemption for their children to the school where they work. If the grade they need is not offered at the school where they work, they can obtain a zone exemption to a nearby feeder school.

To apply for an employee zone exemption, an employee should create a parent account on our SchoolMint platform using their RCS email address. Then they will need to follow the instructions on SchoolMint for an Employee Zone Exemption application: https://rcschools.schoolmint.com/

OPEN CHOICE SEATS FOR 2026-2027

Posted November 17, 2025 (Updated Dec. 11, 2025 to add an additional five choice seats for a total of 15 for each zoned school). For information about the 2026-2027 rezoning plan that affects all middle schools, Stewarts Creek Elementary, and Brown's Chapel Elementary, please click HERE.

Open Choice applications open Dec. 1, 2025 and the deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2026

School	K	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Central Magnet School							125	26	2	200
McFadden School of Excellence	60				15
Thurman Francis Arts Academy	60	9	21	9	5	0	6	16	14
Homer Pittard Campus School	38	1	1	1	9	2
Rutherford County Virtual School				25	15	15	15	15	15	25	25	25	25
Oakland High International Baccalaureate										80	10	10
Holloway High School										50 seats across all grades
LaVergne High Early College at Motlow												72
Zoned Elementary Schools						15 seats total across all grades
Zoned Middle Schools						15 seats total across all grades
Zoned High Schools						15 seats total across all grades
Eagleville Open Choice						15 seats total across all grades K-12
ACAR	60	10	5	20	5	20	10	10
Springs EA Charter						See school's website
Novus SMART Academy	96	96

NOTE: Once you have been approved for a zone exemption/choice seat, it remains in effect until you leave that school -- no need to reapply.