Fresh off last week’s gubernatorial campaign announcement, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn spoke before a crowd of state and education leaders Thursday afternoon in support of the recently passed Education Freedom Scholarship Act.¶
The program, frequently referred to as vouchers, is providing 20 thousand children with tax dollars to pay for private school expenses, and Blackburn says it will be a key part of her education policy if she’s elected governor next year.¶
“We know that every parent deserves the opportunity to know that their child is going to be in that right learning environment, it is critical to developing those skills to be successful in life,” said Blackburn. “One size fits all education has been an absolute flop. It does not work.”¶
Those comments came at an awards ceremony hosted by education advocacy organization TennesseeCAN at Geodis Park. The group presented Blackburn with its Education Freedom Champion for Kids award to recognize her support for all forms of school choice, including the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.¶
Senator Praised for Delivering President Trump’s Support¶
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs was among the attendees, and he told the crowd that Senator Blackburn played a key role in convincing President Donald Trump to publicly announce his support for the Education Freedom Scholarship last January on social media.¶
That announcement was considered an important moment in the debate over the bill that lawmakers approved two days later in a special session.¶
“President Trump made it very clear that the way to implement his vision for education reform was through school choice,” said Blackburn. “What an honor it was for me to join with the Governor and President Trump and all of our legislators and push forward to get school choice implemented in the state of Tennessee.”¶
Parents filed more than 33 thousand applications for the program within hours of the online portal opening, and Blackburn says those numbers are proof that Tennesseans support the plan.¶
Senator Marsha Blackburn surrounded by Republican members of the Tennessee General Assembly and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs (second from the left on the back row) (Photo by Sky Arnold)¶
Race for Governor¶
Blackburn will face U.S. Congressman John Rose in next year’s GOP gubernatorial primary.¶
Both Blackburn and Rose voted for President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill that included tax credits benefitting private school choice and support his plan to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education and provide more authority over education policy to the states.¶
