TENNESSEE, USA — Gov. Bill Lee announced that Tennessee lawmakers are renewing a push to expand the school voucher program in Tennessee with a new bill that includes some perks for public schools.
Lee's proposal, which is coined the "Education Freedom Scholarship Act," would expand the existing program to provide taxpayer-funded scholarships to families to cover tuition and other expenses in accredited private schools.
The original bill was proposed in the fall of 2023, but it was met with contention in the Republican-controlled legislature. Lawmakers disagreed on the scope of the voucher program, and several competing bills were drafted during the previous session before being tabled.
Lawmakers filed House Bill 1/Senate Bill 1 on Wednesday as the first piece of legislation for the upcoming session. The new bill is an amended version of the previous versions that were debated in the last session.
It included a few noteworthy changes to try and garner support from public school agencies in the state, including a one-time $2,000 bonus for public school teachers. It also included a clause that would divert the majority of the state's sports betting taxes to pay for new public school buildings and repairs.
Lee described it as a "unified" plan.
“For more than a year, I have worked in partnership with the General Assembly to introduce a unified school choice plan that empowers parents when it comes to their child’s education and further invests in Tennessee’s public schools and teachers,” Lee said. “Every child deserves an opportunity for success regardless of their income or ZIP code, and I look forward to delivering on this promise with the Education Freedom Act.”
This year's 11-page proposal is a trimmed-down version of a bill from last session. Much of the bill remains the same, including the 20,000-student scholarship limit. 10,000 of the scholarships are set aside for lower-income students, and 10,000 are set aside for eligible students regardless of criteria.
There were some other noteworthy changes to the new bill, including:
- Non-accredited private schools are no longer included in the expanded school voucher program. In previous versions, all forms of private schools were included.
- Lawmakers reworked how voucher applicants would be prioritized if applications exceeded the allotted maximum starting in the 2026-27 school year. It puts voucher recipients renewing for another year at the top of the priority list, followed by students in lower-income homes.
- If the state receives enough applications in a year (more than 75% of the total number of vouchers available), it would increase the number of available vouchers in the next school year by 5,000.
- The bill removed a line about social security numbers that previously said that applicants who didn't provide a valid SSN would be reported to federal authorities such as the IRS and Department of Homeland Security.
If approved, the new program would begin utilizing money currently allocated in this year's state budget. The Tennessee General Assembly is scheduled to begin its next session in January 2025.
Critics of the proposal argued that the expanded voucher program would divert public money away from public school systems. Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) and Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) said the new bill does not address those concerns.
"Well TN friends, the fight begins. The Republicans filed their first bill, HB1, the voucher bill. Their cynical selves put a 1 time $2,000 teacher bonus in it, thinking teachers will take money to sell out 1 million kiddos. Think again," Johnson said.
"This isn’t about improving education; it’s about diverting public dollars away from underfunded public schools to private institutions that are unaccountable to taxpayers and don’t serve every student," Lamar said. "Vouchers are a scam — they aren’t working to improve student outcomes here in Tennessee, nor have they succeeded at this scale anywhere else in the country."
The Beacon Impact, a conservative advocacy group, applauded the renewed push for expanded school vouchers in Tennessee.
"Beacon Impact fully supports SB1-HB1 and thanks Gov. Lee, Leader Johnson, and Leader Lamberth for putting families first. Tennesseans overwhelmingly support educational choice and we call on the legislature to empower parents to make the best choice for their child's education by passing this bill as soon as they return to session in January," the group said.
PublicSchoolStrong TN, a public school advocacy group made up of parents, called on Lee to prioritize students and educators instead of "out-of-state billionaires."
"After an overwhelming rejection last year by teachers, parent groups, 72+ school boards, the superintendents association, and communities all across the state, Gov. Lee has yet again filed a bill to create a universal private voucher program in Tennessee. By 2027, this program would divert over $800 million per year into private schools," the group said.
During the previous legislative session, WBIR 10News asked viewers if they supported Lee's school voucher plan. More than 86% of the 1,306 respondents said "no."