TENNESSEE, USA — On Tuesday, Governor Bill Lee rolled out a plan for school vouchers, calling it the "Education Freedom Scholarship Act."
Other states like Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Utah, and West Virginia, either have these plans in place or may implement similar programs soon. Some warn that the program, otherwise known as education savings accounts or school vouchers, do more harm than good.
"Here in Arizona, the voucher program — they sold it as freedom of choice," said Beth Lewis, the Executive Director of Save Our Schools Arizona. "But it's really never been about freedom or choice, or low-income kids. It's really rolled out as a way to subsidize tuition for the wealthy. "
Arizona has recently saw controversy in its legislature regarding its education savings account program. However, Republican Speaker Ben Toma still supports the ESA program, which he introduced in the state legislature.
"We remind the governor that she leads the entire state of Arizona, and if she seeks changes to the ESA program, she ought to propose serious policies — not tweet vague threats. The state legislature has yet to see any policy proposals from her office. Arizona will continue to responsibly fund students, not systems," Toma said.
In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, (R) rolled out the LEARNS program. She also helped Gov. Bill Lee roll out his new Education Freedom Scholarship Act. She says it's a part of a conservative movement focused on educational choice.
For the largest school district in Arkansas, Springdale, some leaders are looking at the LEARNS program as an opportunity to prove public schools can provide great options for students.
"Some people are going to choose to go other places and we wish them the best as well. And if somebody ends up in a position where they're in a private school or a charter, and they are not thriving there — you can come back to us, and we can bring you in, and we work together. Yes, it's competition. And yes, it's choice. But they're all our kids," said Trent Jones, Communications Director for Springdale Schools.