NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you have a school-aged child, their education is at the center of debate this legislative session.
Scholarships, education savings accounts, vouchers — whatever you call them — will shape the future of education in our state.
For two years, Tennessee has granted a limited number of school vouchers — about 2,000 in all — to lower-income families, not already enrolled in private schools. Now Gov. Bill Lee wants to expand the program, and within two years, make it available to every child in the state. The cost of a voucher is $7075 – from taxpayer funds.
“It’s very politicized, and it’s not unique to Tennessee,” says Dr. Donna Wright who spent 40 years in public education, retiring as Wilson County’s Director of Schools in 2021. I sat down to talk with her about vouchers from a public education perspective. She said at the Tennessee legislature, the voucher debate is pitting public education against private schools.
“The conversation has changed as well, with that being this belief that the public school system is a failing enterprise, and it’s not serving kids and it’s not serving families, and with that, we have to give parents a choice," Wright said.
But she said what’s missing from the fight is an even playing field.
"If we’re going to be in this competitive game — private vs public — let’s be held accountable the same way," she said.
Two sticking points: testing and credentialing. When it comes to testing, public school students take the state-mandated TCAP test, a test that has been a point of controversy itself. Private schools have their own methods of testing at their own discretion.
“If they are going to accept taxpayer dollars, then it should be the same responsibility as far as what’s the performance level: achievement, growth. However we going to measure for public schools, it should be the same thing," Wright said.
Same goes for teacher credentialing, Wright said. Public schools are held to higher state standards when hiring teachers at a time when a record number of educators are leaving the workforce and fewer are entering.
“We’ve got to lift the barriers so that public schools are not working with one arm behind their back and trying to keep up with what’s happening with the vouchers.”
And then there’s the money issue. Under Gov. Lee’s proposed Education Freedom Scholarship Act, it is not yet clear where the money will come from for each $7,075 voucher. Wright fears public schools will take the hit with fewer children enrolled and set infrastructure costs to pay personnel and offerings will suffer.
“Even though the governor says you are looking at two different pots of money per se, and he has taken that into account when you look at enrollment no matter how you want to spin it that is based on revenue stream right there.”
Under Gov. Lee’s plan to make them available to everyone, opponents argue private schools will be able to pick and choose who they accept, and it does not stop those already in the private school system from taking taxpayer dollars.
“We take kids that school is their only saving grace, and they might not be ready for school yet, but we’re going to take them and do our very best with them because that’s what we do. We’re not selecting and sorting our kids because we open our doors to all.”
In the end, Dr. Wright said like any good classroom lesson — details and research matter.
“They have not talked this through, and legislators come and go, but their legacy might be lasting at the expense of public education.”
What is the governor wanting?
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced in 2023 his desire to expand vouchers to all 95 counties across the state.
Lee's plan — which he is calling "Freedom Educational Scholarships" — will provide thousands of dollars for students to attend private schools.
Lee's new proposal for an Education Freedom Scholarship Act would provide an estimated $7,000 per student beginning in the 2024-25 school year, according to the one-pager obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
According to the summary, in the first year, only students who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, have a disability or are eligible for the existing ESA pilot program could take part in the program.
Beginning in 2025-26, the plan calls for "universal eligibility for all students entitled to attend a public school."
What is Tennessee's current voucher program?
Tennessee's current education savings account is only for three parts of the state: Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby Counties.
Enacted in 2019 by the legislature, it established a program for students to receive money directly for their education rather than a public school system to pay for private education. The vote was contentious with then-Speaker Glen Casada, passing only by one vote with the board held for more than 40 minutes. Now-House Speaker Cameron Sexton didn't vote for the program.
However, the program didn't start until 2022 because of a lawsuit in the chancery court, where those who didn't want the program deemed it unconstitutional. An order was placed in 2020 that the program couldn't begin. Two years later, a three-judge panel lifted an injunction two weeks before the 2022 school year to allow the program to move forward.
The Tennessee Department of Education officials said in summer 2022 they were "excited to restart work" for families and students. During the injunction, the department couldn't work on preparation plans for the ESAs.
Students now have $9,000 to use toward a school, where they could also apply for financial aid to supplement the rest of the cost.
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