Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee unveils Education Freedom Scholarship Act

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Governor Bill Lee has unveiled his plans for a statewide school voucher proposal, which he has coined the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.

If passed for the upcoming 2024-25 school year, the act will award a total of 20,000 scholarships on a first-come first-served basis for Tennessee residents to attend private school or home schools of their choosing. The governor said the legislation aims to provide every Tennessee parent with the opportunity to “choose the right education for their child.”

“A high-quality education has the power to change the trajectory of a child’s life, and there’s no question that now is the time to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family,” Gov. Lee said. “Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarships will empower parents with the freedom to choose the right education for their child while also giving them a say in how their taxpayer dollars are invested.”

State leaders such as House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, have publicly backed Gov. Lee’s proposal.

“Working to expand the educational choices parents and students have available to them is always a worthy goal,” Lt. Gov. McNally said. “I am grateful Governor Lee has brought forth this proposal, and I look forward to working with him, Speaker Sexton and all members of the General Assembly in pursuit of that goal.”

Metro Nashville Board of Education Chair Rachael Elrod released a statement rejecting the governor’s proposal ahead of his announcement on Tuesday.

“It is moral and fiscal malpractice for Tennessee to dismantle and destabilize public education,” Elrod said. “The state started education privatization in Nashville and Memphis, and it is now spreading across the state.”

Metro Nashville Public Schools has been part of a voucher school pilot program and almost all of the students who applied to receive money already went to private schools, Elrod said. This means MNPS is having to pay money for a voucher to cover a student they do not get any local, state or federal money to help educate.

If Metro Schools continues to lose money they do not have to begin with, Elrod said they will have to reduce the number of programs offered to students. MNPS will also have to get more money from the city to cover the losses.

“If we have reduced funding, no matter where that comes from, that means we would have a reduced number of services,” Elrod said. “Students don’t leave our schools in these wonderful bundles of classroom size. We still have to provide teachers and resources and librarians and all the different staff members that we need at our facilities for our students - whether that is 19 kids in that classroom or 25.”

Professional Educators of Tennessee also released a statement of their opposition to the voucher proposal, saying the statewide act is “heavily influenced by out-of-state interests.”

The act aims to award 10,000 scholarships to Tennessee students at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, who have a disability, or are eligible for the existing ESA pilot program. The other 10,000 scholarships will be made available to a universal pool of students entitled to attend a public school.

If the Education Freedom Scholarship is passed, it will be altered from the 2025-26 school year and beyond, making eligibility universal for any Tennessee student.

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