NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s just one week away from the start of a new legislative session, and at the top of the agenda for Governor Bill Lee is his expanded school voucher program.
It failed last year, mostly due to Republican infighting. Educators and parents across the state are still pushing back against the plan. On Tuesday, the organization Public School Strong TN held a virtual “Stop the Voucher Scam” Town Hall to share their concerns about Governor Bill Lee’s voucher plan.
“The hard sell that you saw last session has gotten even harder,” said Jennifer Berkshire, author of The Education Wars, as she moderated the event.
The group explained how last year, Lee proposed a similar bill that was ultimately rejected. The organization claimed it was due largely in part to the fact “thousands of parents [contacted] their representative with a clear message: stop using public money to fund exclusive private school tuition.”
“We know that in Tennessee specifically, vouchers are not popular despite screwed polls that are coming out that they are,” Liv Cook, a member of Public School Strong TN, said. “The majority of students in Tennessee attend public schools, and most families support public schools and want to see them well resourced.”
House Bill 1/Senate Bill 1 was filed by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland). In Nov. 2023, Gov. Lee unveiled his proposal to expand school vouchers. The proposal aimed to expand the voucher program to all 95 counties in Tennessee, allowing tax money to cover the tuition of a student going to a private school.
“Private schools are exclusive by nature. They do not have to accept everybody that comes through their door whereas public schools accept everybody who comes through the door no questions asked, and they will educate them,” said Dustin Park, a Public School Strong TN leader based in Blount County. “To me, it’s about the vision that we have for our community. Do we want inclusive communities that educate all of our kids, or do we want to put our money towards exclusive institutions that are going to discriminate against the most vulnerable kids in our community?”
The new bill not only includes 20,000 scholarships at around $7,000 each, but it also includes $2,000 bonuses for teachers if the money is included in the budget, and a proposal to use 80% of the state’s privilege tax generated from sports betting to build and maintain public schools.
“Those families that are already in private schools and have the ability to pay and do that, should not benefit from the public funds,” Dr. Linda Cash, superintendent of Bradley County Schools, said.
The town hall came as Lee’s push for school vouchers hit a new high — the governor has appeared in television ads advocating for the new bill.
“I’m very committed to making sure that kids not only get the right option for their education but their parents get to choose that,” Lee said on Nov. 25, 2024. “Every kid has a unique need. The person who knows best what their child’s needs are from an education standpoint is the parent. We should do everything we can in the state to give parents options for their children, and that’s what the Education Freedom Scholarship Act will do.”
In just a few weeks, his voucher bill will be up for discussion at the start of the new legislative session. The American Federation for Children, a non-profit that advocates for school vouchers, has told News 2 that the bill being proposed benefits both sides.
“I do think this bill seems to have something for not just families who want to attend a private school, but even those who want to send their kids to the existing public schools,” Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow for the American Federation for Children, said. “There’s stuff in there for teacher bonuses, there is something in the bill for infrastructure for public schools, so I do think there is something, a little bit for everybody to love in this bill
The regular legislative session convenes on Jan. 14.
