Legislation to expand the Education Savings Account Program to Hamilton County advances

Legislation to expand the controversial Education Savings Account (ESA) program moved forward Tuesday night after gaining approval from a key subcommittee.

The House K-12 subcommittee passed a plan from Chattanooga State Senator Todd Gardenhire that would allow students in Hamilton County to participate in the ESA program. The State Senate passed the legislation last month.

Originally approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2019, the ESA program allows eligible students in Davidson or Shelby County to use state and local funds to help cover education costs at private schools. Due to legal challenges, the program did not take effect until last year.

Hamilton County was initially considered for inclusion in the ESA program, but supporters say the district was given additional time to improve its performance. The Hamilton County School District has struggled since 2016, with students scoring below average in nine out of ten performance categories.

Representative Mark White of Memphis is sponsoring the legislation in the House on behalf of Senator Gardenhire, who believes it is necessary for Hamilton County.

“Five years of giving opportunity to the Hamilton County Schools, Sen. Gardenhire says ‘it is like playing whack-a-mole—two priority schools come off, three come back on.’ So Sen. Gardenhire is asking for Hamilton County to be a part of the ESA, or what is known as the ‘voucher,’ to give parents a choice. This is a pro-choice bill for parents where the particular school they’re in is not working for them,” said Representative White, quoting Senator Gardenhire.

The Tennessee Department of Education supports the legislation, and subcommittee members Representative Gino Bulso and Representative Bryan Richey expressed their desire to see the program expanded to all counties in the state.

Critics of the original ESA program argued that it would divert funding from public schools. Chapel Hill Representative Todd Warner echoed these concerns, stating, “I support school choice; I think parents ought to have the right. Where I struggle is when we take money out of a public school system.”

Representative Bryan Richey responded to Warner’s concerns, arguing that parents should have the authority to decide how educational funds are spent.

“I think parents having the opportunity to make the decision that’s best for them when we’ve got taxpayer dollars—it's not public-school dollars—that are set aside to educate our kids,” Richey said.

The House Education Administration Committee is scheduled to vote on the legislation next week.