Governor’s Voucher Bill is Dead in 2024

NASHVILLE ­(April 22) — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has conceded that his proposed School Choice Plan has died for this legislative session.

Members of the 113th General Assembly, who hope to adjourn very soon, could not reconcile their differences on a bill to provide a scholarship voucher for students to attend the school of their choice.

More than 50 school districts issued public statements against vouchers, saying they would have “detrimental” impacts on public schools by diverting public funds into private hands. The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents and the Tennessee Education Association both publicly opposed the now-dead legislation.

In January, 2024, McKenzie Special School District Board of Education was one of many public school districts that voted to oppose the Governor’s Bill.

The McKenzie Board held a special board meeting and voted against the Educational Freedom Scholarship Act as proposed by Governor Bill Lee.
The proposed Act was to provide vouchers for homeschooled and private school students. The Act proposes to provide 20,000 scholarships in the 2024-25 year and add more in the following year.
Members of the McKenzie Board were not pleased with the uncertainty of the proposed legislation, which would allow state funding to be used for tuition, tutoring, textbooks and other educational resources outside the current public schools. The money follows the student, so, any student who transfers to home schooling or private schools, their education would be funded by limited public funding.

McKenzie Special School District is committed to maintaining local control over its schools, ensuring that they are reflective of the community’s needs and values; and the Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) threaten the district’s ability to maintain the quality of its educational offerings as ESAs would divert state funds to private actors and disrupt local control of education.

Because this is the last year in the 113th General Assembly, lawmakers will have to file the bill as brand new in 2025 with some new members of the legislature following the November 2024 elections. The new term will convene in January 2025.

“I am extremely disappointed for the families who will have to wait yet another year for the freedom to choose the right education for their child, especially when there is broad agreement that now is the time to bring universal school choice to Tennessee,” Lee said in an early Monday statement. “While we made tremendous progress, unfortunately it has become clear that there is not a pathway for the bill during this legislative session.”

Lee said. “It’s very simple — this is about every Tennessee student having the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their ZIP code or income level, and without question, empowering parents is the best way to make sure that happens.”