Governor Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship plan poised for floor votes

Looking down at the Senate floor (Photo by Tennessee General Assembly)

Drew Middleton says his son’s experience with public schools left a lot to be desired.

Middleton says his son struggled on standardized tests but teachers at his zoned elementary school passed him anyway with As, Bs, and Cs. The family decided private school might be a better option for middle school but Middle says he was only able to afford it because his son’s autism diagnosis qualified him for financial assistance through the state’s Individualized Education Account (IEA) program.

Drew Middleton speaking in the House Education Committee (Screengrab)

Educators there recommended Middleton’s son repeat the fifth-grade because he was so far behind, and the experience has left the family worried about their daughter’s future in public schools. Middleton says he doesn’t have the money to send her to private school as well without assistance.

“Our daughter is now in fourth-grade and at the same public school where our son went and we are worried about what is next for her. Since our daughter doesn’t have a learning disability won’t be able to secure the same IEA funding for her private education so she can go to the same school as her brother. Instead, we have to consider taking each of our kids to separate schools which we feel will render very different outcomes,” said Middleton.

Middleton told his story to lawmakers at Tuesday’s House Education Committee to urge them to pass Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025. The plan, frequently referred to as “school vouchers,” would allocate $148 million in public dollars for up to 20 thousand children across the state to use for private school expenses. The bill additionally includes multiple provisions to appease opponents, including a one-time $2,000 bonus for K-12 public school teachers and a provision that directs 80 percent of the revenue from sports wagering tax into an account dedicated to school facilities aid. 

The legislation comfortably advanced out of the newly reconfigured 24 member House Education Committee in the special session Tuesday with just two Republicans, Representatives David Hawk, R-Greeneville, and Kevin Raper, R-Cleveland, joining all five Democrats voting against it.

Republican leaders declined to consider any amendments filed by Democrats and further angered them by calling for a vote on the bill while multiple members had questions they wanted to ask. 

“If people are not going to be heard, why would you expect them to sit quietly and accept a disenfranchisement from this system,” asked Representative Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga. “I’m just so disheartened about the actions of this body, afraid of questions being asked.” 

The one amendment committee members did add to the bill came from bill sponsor House Republican Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, that essentially cleans up language in the initial bill and addresses concerns about school districts potentially losing money under the plan. 

State Representative William Lamberth (Photo by Tennessee General Assembly)

Lamberth says the “hold harmless” provision of the amendment guarantees school districts won’t see their state funding decrease when children leave to attend private school, and he assured opponents that the funding for the Education Freedom Scholarship plan will not come from the pool of money the state uses to fund schools.

“There is no money coming from public schools at all. I know you don’t want to believe it but yes that is absolutely too good for both parties, and you may not want to believe it but it’s true. Public school will continue to receive all the money and then some that they’re going to receive and we’re setting up a scholarship fund,” said Lamberth.

Representative Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, pushed back on the proposal and instead suggested the state should spend the voucher money on traditional public schools.

“So you’re telling me that we’re going to fund two school systems and that we are going to pay twice and we’re asking taxpayers to fund two school systems,” said Johnson. “We are forty-fifth in the nation in spending in public education.”

Lamberth’s amendment also outlines that distressed or at-risk counties, high performing districts, and fast-growing counties will get priority for the facility funding provided by the bill. That provision has faced questions because the sports wagering tax that funds it is currently earmarked for the Hope Scholarship.

Representative Lamberth told lawmakers the Hope Scholarship has been funded adequately through Tennessee Lottery proceeds but should that change, sports wagering dollars would be pulled from school facility funding to support the scholarship program.

The legislation additionally passed the House Government Operations Committee on Tuesday along with the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee where Chairman Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville, was the only Republican joining Democrats opposing it. 

Bill sails to the Senate floor

No Republicans opposed the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 in the Senate Education Committee and just one, Senator Page Walley, R-Savannah, opposed it in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.

State Senator Raumesh Akbari (Photo by Tennessee General Assembly)

Every Senate Democrat has joined their House counterparts in voting against the plan, including Democratic leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, who unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill to require students taking part in the Education Freedom Scholarship plan to take the same Tennessee Comprehensive Achievement Program (TCAP) tests that public school students take. The legislation requires participants to take annual assessments, but the TCAP test is not required to be one of them.

Additionally, Akbari proposed excluding private schools from the program when their participating students performing 15 percent lower than the state average.

“Because they’re getting public dollars. Quite frankly if they’re not meeting certain achievement metrics, they shouldn’t be allowed to take those,” said Akbari. “We just wanna make sure that what’s good for those in our public schools as far as accountability is good for those in our private schools that take public funds.”

The full Senate is also expected to vote on the Education Freedom Scholarship Act Thursday after the House votes on the legislation.  Last year’s version of the bill failed to advance to the floor in either chamber.