Tennessee’s school voucher program could start by 2020-21
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s school voucher program could start in the next year, with Gov. Bill Lee hoping to get it off the ground by the 2020-21 school year.
The education savings accounts, as they are called in Tennessee, allow for parents to use public funds to send their student to private school.
While the program is to start “no later than” the 2021-22 school year and many expected to begin on that timeline, the Lee administration is working toward getting the program off the ground a year ahead of that deadline, according to Laine Arnold, Lee’s spokeswoman.
Arnold said Lee wants to move as quickly as the administration can to provide choice and opportunity to families.
“Every day without implementation is another day that a child is stuck in a failing school and parents are lacking a choice for their son or daughter,” Arnold said.
She said the statute is clear that the Lee administration can move forward with the program ahead of the 2021-22 deadline.
“There is a clear need for expanded school choice in our state and we are working to make this a reality for Tennessee families within those guidelines,” she said.
Push back and legal challenges
The controversial education savings account program saw plenty of opposition from lawmakers before its passage. The bill narrowly passed the House and secured passage by several votes in the Senate.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Mike Stewart, a Nashville representative, said the Lee administration pushing ahead of the deadline date shows he isn’t interested in protecting taxpayer dollars. He said the education savings account program will drain public schools and send it to private schools.
“Every parent in Davidson County should be extremely concerned,” Stewart said. “Basically, we have a bunch of Republican legislators and a Republican governor that has swooped in to dole out public money to their supporters and far-right political allies.”
The program could face possible legal challenges, including from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. The coalition and opponents argued the program is unconstitutional because it doesn’t allow immigrants without proper documentation to use the program.
Limited to two counties
When it begins, the ESA program will enroll up to 5,000 students in Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools.
The program will eventually cap at 15,000 students.
The program approved by Lee and lawmakers is much smaller in scope than the governor’s original proposal, which included the Hamilton, Knox and Madison school districts.
The program will provide on average $7,300 in public funds for parents to use. The money will be diverted from a public school and be used by the family for private school and other educational items.
It would require families to make less than double the federal income requirement eligibility for free lunch — about $65,000 annually for a family of four.