Despite making “tremendous progress” toward implementing a school choice program in Tennessee, Republicans ultimately failed to come to an agreement during negotiations on two different versions of school choice measures that had been put forward in the state’s House and Senate.
Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee, who had pushed for the state’s legislature to pass school choice legislation, said on Monday that families “will have to wait yet another year for the freedom to choose the right education for their child.” The state’s 2024 legislative session ends this week, and a new General Assembly will be sworn in after the elections this fall.
“I am extremely disappointed for the families who will have to wait yet another year for the freedom to choose the right education for their child, especially when there is broad agreement that now is the time to bring universal school choice to Tennessee,” Lee said. “While we made tremendous progress, unfortunately it has become clear that there is not a pathway for the bill during this legislative session.”
Lee’s plan, known as the “Education Freedom Scholarship Act,” looked to make scholarships worth $7,000 available for 20,000 students in the next school year. For the first year of the scholarships, those with low incomes would have access to half of the scholarships while the other half would be handed out on a first come, first serve basis. The plan would push for all students in the 2025-2026 school year to have scholarships they could use at private schools and charter schools and they would also be made available for homeschool families.
Lee thanked the leaders in both chambers of the state legislature “for their commitment to pursuing education freedom next year.”
The bills being considered by the state Senate and House contained major differences. The bill sponsored in the Senate by Republican Majority Leader Jack Johnson mirrored Lee’s proposal and added a requirement that scholarship recipients take an annual norm-referenced test approved by the state board of education. Meanwhile, the state House version of the bill — sponsored by Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth — was more strict in how the scholarships could be applied as they were designated only for use at private schools with limited use for public schools. The House version also did not include scholarships that could be used by homeschool families.
Lamberth cited concerns about fiscal responsibility for why the House bill included those major differences.
“We would expand as possible as we go forward. Here in Tennessee, we are always very fiscally conservative. We balance our budget every year,” Lamberth told The Daily Wire earlier this month. “We are just very careful not to have a program that has no fiscal constraints on it. So the intention would be to expand this program down the road, but we’re going to start out with 20,000 students.”
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The school choice program was opposed by Democrats and teachers unions, but also by some conservative activists who say that school choice legislation could be fiscally irresponsible, introduce backdoor ways for the government to regulate Christian schools and homeschoolers, and fund education for illegal immigrants, The Daily Wire previously reported.
The governor, however, says his proposed program will empower parents and give all students better opportunities “to succeed.”
“It’s very simple — this is about every Tennessee student having the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their zip code or income level, and without question, empowering parents is the best way to make sure that happens,” Lee said.
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.
