Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s dream of implementing a statewide education freedom scholarship program for private school vouchers was put on hold in the 2024 legislative session. Despite strong support from top lawmakers in the state House and Senate, differences between the various versions of the bill could not be reconciled, leading to its failure. The proposed program would have offered 20,000 scholarships worth $7,200 each to parents to send their children to private schools, at a cost of approximately $145 million..
The defeat of the voucher legislation was seen as a setback for Governor Lee, who had been a proponent of the program since his first term. It also posed political challenges for House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, both of whom had changed their positions on the issue. The influence of education reform groups in the state, who had backed the vouchers, was a factor in the bill’s failure.
Moving forward, the future of the voucher program remains uncertain. The defeat of the bill leaves open the possibility of returning to a slower expansion of vouchers county by county, or potentially revisiting the issue in the future. The political landscape in Tennessee will be shaped by the outcome of upcoming elections, with pro-voucher groups expected to play a significant role in influencing the outcome. Governor Lee expressed disappointment over the setback but remained committed to working towards passing the program in 2025.
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Photo credit tennesseelookout.com
