Parents across Tennessee will soon be able to put taxpayer dollars toward the cost of attending private school. State lawmakers Thursday narrowly voted to expand Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher program statewide, less than a year after a similar measure failed.
Under the Education Freedom Act, families can use taxpayer dollars to cover the cost of K-12 private school to the tune of just over $7,000 for each child — more than some school districts currently receive in per-student funding. The money will go directly from the state to the private school and can cover anything from tuition and fees to laptops and classroom supplies for the student.
Two-thirds of the families expected to receive that money are already enrolled in private school, according to a state review.
Rep. Chris Hurt, R-Hall, attempted to add an amendment to ensure that private schools don’t discriminate against students with disabilities in the admission’s process. He said he wanted to guarantee that his own daughter, who has a disability, would have the same opportunities as other students.
“We should have no problem with the word discriminate being put in a bill to protect students with special needs. I will stand firm on that. I don’t think it jeopardizes the bill. I think it only strengthens the opportunities for these students to be admitted,” Hall said.
His amendment ultimately failed, but it spoke to the experience of Williamson County mom Candace Ashburn, whose son has an intellectual disability. She testified that under the vouchers’ pilot program, many of the qualifying private schools could not meet her child’s needs.
“I scoured websites and email, made phone calls, and found, with the exception of very few, (private schools) … do not provide services for students with learning disabilities, exceptional needs or IEPs,” Ashburn said. “The public school system is the only system that provides safeguards.”
Students with disabilities who take public funds to private school don’t have the same protections that they do in public schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The EFA’s first year will cost the state nearly $450 million. In that first year, 10,000 scholarships will go to families making 300% of the requirements for free or reduced lunch — at maximum $175,000 a year for a family of four. Another 10,000 scholarships will have no income requirements for the first year, and subsequent years will remove the cap altogether.
“Our average income is $60,000 a year,” said Aiden Pratt, a candidate for Wilson County commissioner. “Does that sound anywhere close to $174,000? No, and they definitely are not the ‘low income’ that the legislature thinks they are.”
School districts from across the state had sent letters, urging lawmakers to vote no. In some rural areas, the public school system is the county’s largest employer.
The law also gives a one-time $2,000 bonus to public school teachers if their districts opt-in to receiving the money.
“That is just another ploy,” said Tanya Coats, President of the Tennessee Education Association. “It’s only a one-time bonus and it’s taxed at a very high rate. So, I’ve heard from educators, and I know as an educator myself, it’s insulting.”
Teachers and public-school advocates are worried the EFA will create a shortfall in funding for their schools. The law does not take directly from per-student funding the way the pilot program does for districts in Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga. But when enrollment is down, funding is down.
The law sets aside funds to make sure public schools don’t lose money when EFA scholarship students leave. State Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, cited a state review which found that only $3.3 million was earmarked to buoy public schools, while public schools are projected to lose $45 million because of the program.
“We’re asking taxpayers to fund two school systems,” Johnson said. “We’re 45th in the nation in spending in public education.”
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, pointed to increases in education funding over the past few years.
“No public school loses even one red cent due to this bill,” Lamberth said. “It is an extraordinarily good deal for a public school in this state.”
Instead of taking directly from public schools, the EFA will draw from lottery and sports betting revenue. Currently, that money goes towards the HOPE Scholarship, which helps Tennessee students go to college in-state.
There might not be enough of that money to go around. The most optimistic projection for this year’s lottery puts revenue just above what it cost to keep the HOPE scholarship program funded for the 2023-2024 school year. The least optimistic projection could force Tennessee to dip into reserve funds.
Students enrolled in the pilot program have underperformed on state testing compared to their public-school peers, according to state data. The biggest disparity was in Hamilton County, where 18% of ESA students were proficient in math compared to more than 36% of public school students.
State data also shows that participating parents have a 99% satisfaction rate. One of those satisfied parents, Drew Middleton of Nashville, told the House and Senate Education Subcommittees that private school was the right decision for his son, who has autism. But the requirements of the pilot program mean his family couldn’t afford tuition for their second child.
“Since our daughter doesn’t have a learning disability, we won’t be able to secure the same … funding for her private education,” Middleton said. “Instead, we have to consider taking each of our kids to separate schools.”
The EFA goes into effect for the 2025-2026 school year.
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