KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Wednesday, Governor Bill Lee and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R - Crossville) arrived at Emerald Academy, a charter school in Knoxville. While they were there, they spoke on the new education voucher program Gov. Lee just unveiled.
Some critics of the Education Freedom Scholarship Act raised concerns about what choices would be available for students in rural areas without private schools, and several other concerns.
"In rural counties, sometimes is, you have parents who are not satisfied with the schools or the schools are not meeting the needs of that parent. And they may not have a private school. Those families who may work in that county move to another county to go to a public school," Sexton said. "And they work back in that rural county because there are no options there. And so you lose that capability."
The bill would start by providing a total of 20,000 scholarships to Tennessee students during the 2024-2025 school year. The first 10,000 scholarships would be for students whose families were at or below 300% of the federal poverty line, who have a disability or who are eligible for the state's new ESA program.
The other 10,000 scholarships would be available to a universal pool of students eligible to attend public schools.
The following school year and beyond, Tennessee students would be universally eligible to get scholarships so they could attend schools other than public schools, as long as funds are available for scholarships.
Democratic lawmakers expressed concern that private schools would get public funds despite not having to follow the same standards as public schools. During a press conference on Tuesday, Senator Raumesh Akbari (D - Memphis) also said the system could expand and overtake public schools, attracting charter and private schools to Tennessee to take advantage of the program.
"We prioritize those with low incomes and those with disabilities," Lee said. "And once those priorities are met, and the students that want to access this program, from that pool of students, then we continue to open it up. That's the way it should work, we need to make it available to those who need it most."
We asked the governor's office questions about what families could spend the money on through the program. They provided a list, available below.
Eligible Expenses:
- Private school tuition, fees, and uniforms required by the private school.
- Textbooks, curricula, and instructional materials required by the private school.
- Tutoring services provided by a tutor or tutoring facility.
- Fees for transportation to and from a private school.
- Computer hardware, technological devices, and tech fees used for educational needs.
- Tuition, fees, textbooks, curricula, and instructional materials for summer and afterschool academic programs (public and private), not including afterschool childcare.
- Fees for early postsecondary opportunity courses or exams, entrance exams required for postsecondary admission, and industry credentials as promoted by TDOE.
- Educational therapy services provided by therapists.