The Tennessee General Assembly approved the Tennessee Universal School Voucher program on Thursday after a four-day session. Governor Bill Lee called the special session to focus on this legislation to expand school choice and offer voucher programs for K-12 students across the state.
The bill is called the Education Freedom Act, approving the fund for the school voucher program. People of Tennessee wondering about the new voucher program and other details of the bill can check every detail here.
Tennessee School Vouchers
On 30 Jan 2025, Tennessee lawmakers finally approved the $447 million public fund for the school voucher program after a long debate in the House. Gov. Bill Lee called the special session to focus on the legislation, and the Senate passed the bill in a 20 to 13 vote after 90 minutes of debate.
The House of Senate passed the bill with 44 of 54 votes after four hours of debate on the bill with bipartisan opposition when one member did not vote. According to reports, the legislation faced Democratic and Republican opposition, but it was finally passed after a round of debate over the amendments.
Gov. Bill Lee says it will advance the education system of the State and give parents a choice for their child’s education without worrying about their income and their residence. Many US states have adopted similar systems to improve the education system.
What do the Tennessee School Vouchers offer?
According to the Tennessee Education Freedom Act 2025, the school voucher program will offer the following things for the parents, students, and teachers to enhance the system:
- Under the legislation, the state will offer 20,000 scholarships to the students where they will provide $7000 for parents to use at private schools they choose for their child’s education.
- According to the reports, half of the 20,000 scholarships would be entitled based on the low income, disability, and child attending the public schools.
- The legislation also offers a one-time bonus to the public school teacher when their school participates in the voucher program across the state by 01 June 2025. The state public school teachers can expect a one-time bonus of $2000.
- The legislation also guarantees there will be no decline in the State TISA Funding and the schools also set aside some funds for school maintenance and construction to enhance the school facilities.
- The legislative bill ensures that parents choose their child’s education as they can access more schools now.
Who will receive the Tennessee School Vouchers?
According to the newly approved expanded voucher program, the voucher program will based on the following conditions:
- Half of the slot of the 20,000 scholarship vouchers will be kept for the students whose family income is below the $173,000 income threshold when there are four members in the household.
- 65% of the School voucher will be awarded to students who attend private schools, and 35% will be offered to students who switch to public schools.
- The legislation put focus on the kids from low-income families and children who have disabilities in private schools which was earlier not available, though some schools have opposed the resolution.
The government has said it will remove the income restriction from the program in the second year of the program and make the needed changes as it implements the program.
Tennessee School Vouchers Implementation Detail
The Education Freedom Act that passed in the Senate and House has now gone to Governor Bill Lee’s office. Once Governor Bill Lee signs the bill and gives his approval it will become the law. Governor Lee is in favor of this bill, so he will sign the bill for sure and it is expected to be implemented from the 2025-2026 school year.
The Tennessee Department of Education will work on the implementation of the bill so that parents and teachers can expect the scholarship and other benefits in the 2025-26 session. The officials will reveal more about the school voucher program implementation and other details after it turns into a law.
What could be the impact of the Bill?
With the School voucher program approved in the Tennessee Assembly, the opposition has raised a lot of concerns regarding the bill. The bill has both positive and negative impacts, let’s explore each one of these:
- With the school voucher program, parents have more options for their children’s education and select the schools that are first best for their child’s future.
- With this bill, the competition among the schools will increase to improve their system and try to attract new students and retain their students.
- Half of the school vouchers available for low-income families, disabled children, and other needy families will bring more education opportunities for such families and their children to strive for a better future.
- Many critics are saying the funds for private schools could challenge the public schools or private schools not having the same education standards as the public schools.
- The opposition is concerned about using public funds for private education as they would mainly benefit wealthy families.
The Tennessee legislation came when the Trump administration also promoted patriotic education. President Trump has supported the Tennessee state prioritizing the school choice programs and supported the School voucher programs too.