Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to announce voucher expansion plan
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Gov. Bill Lee is expected to announce his plan to expand school vouchers statewide on Tuesday.
- Under the plan, which would require legislative approval, 20,000 students from across Tennessee could use public funds to pay private school tuition.
Why it matters: School vouchers are currently allowed in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties. Lee's expansion plan would open the program to rural and suburban districts.
Driving the news: The Tennessean reports Lee will introduce his proposal this afternoon alongside Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who recently pursued voucher expansion in her state.
Zoom in: Under the plan's details, reported by the Tennessean, each participating student would get about $7,075 to pursue private school or home school during the 2024-25 year.
- In that first year, half of the student pool would have to meet income or other requirements. The other 10,000 slots would be open to anyone eligible for public school in Tennessee.
- Starting with the 2025-26 school year, the program would be open to students regardless of income. Income and enrollment history would be used to prioritize students if demand exceeds capacity.
State of play: Lee's plan will be a major focus during the upcoming legislative session. Some Republicans have told the Tennessee Lookout they support expanding vouchers, including state Rep. Mark White, who chairs the House Education Administration Committee.
- But the plan could still face resistance in the Republican-dominated General Assembly. Lee's original voucher plan for Nashville and Memphis narrowly passed in 2019.
What he's saying: "Anytime that we can give parents the option to choose their school for their child, we've done that family a service," Lee told The Tennessean earlier this month.
The other side: State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) said the plan reported by the Tennessean on Monday would "heavily subsidize families already sending or planning to send their kids to private schools" while reducing public school funding and incentivizing the creation of "pop-up, low-quality, unaccredited voucher schools."