Senate Committee advances expansion of original Education Savings Account program, despite passage of the Education Freedom Scholarship Act

On Wednesday, Senator Gardenhire told members of the Senate Education Committee the removal of that income cap concerns him, and he wants to expand the state’s ESA program to ensure low-income families still have other options. He says he thinks once the income cap for Education Freedom Scholarships is lifted, private schools will show preference to higher income families.¶

“When they have a choice between students whose parents can afford to attend all the functions, donate to the athletic fund, donate to the library fund, be involved in the school. In my opinion, after two or three years, these students, the students that need the help, will be muscled out or not really be able to compete for the seats,” said Gardenhire. “This just keeps the income level for those students down below and the opportunity to have a scholarship through a savings account to a private school.”¶

Gardenhire told committee members that during the debate about the Education Freedom Scholarship Act earlier this year, nearly a dozen Tennessee school superintendents called him to oppose it. But he says they also had a surprising request.¶

“Several of those superintendents are represented by people on this committee. They called me up, begged me to vote against it (Education Freedom Scholarship Act), and said, ‘You need to bring back that ESA bill, we’ll support that.’ Well, here I am, bringing it back,” he said.¶

Senator Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, represents Montgomery County and he says school officials there are opposed to ESA expansion to their district. He says expansion of the program is redundant because any Montgomery County families interested in a scholarship would be able to apply for one under the Education Freedom Scholarship Act. He also took issue with the funding mechanism for ESAs. He pointed out that ESAs are partially funded with locally generated dollars, while Education Freedom Scholarships are covered entirely with state funds.¶

“This would mean a portion of local funds generated in Montogomery County, my home county, for our schools, would be going towards private education expenses,” said Powers.¶

Powers also pointed out that the current ESA program would award a higher amount per scholarship than EFS scholarship. ESA scholarships are expected to increase to up to $8,684 dollars per student. The proposed amount for an Education Freedom Scholarship for the 2025-26 school year is $7,295 dollars per student.¶

Senator Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, reiterated that students in any of the counties under Gardenhire’s legislation would already be eligible for Education Freedom Scholarships because it covers students statewide. He wanted to know why Knox, Montgomery, and Rutherford Counties were specifically chosen for an expansion of the ESA program.¶

“These are the last three big urban counties, and because of that, that’s where they have, according to the data I’ve seen, more underprivileged children that would have access to a private school,” explained Gardenhire. “The cynic in me tells me that after two or three years those families, and they’re probably single parent families or grandparents raising those kids, probably won’t have the muscle or influence to get in there and apply for those (Education Freedom Scholarship Act) scholarships.”¶

Senator Powers then told committee members Montgomery is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, and even with an influx of students, schools within the district there regularly meet or exceed state standards.¶

“We know something about education in Montgomery County,” said Powers. “We have no failing schools in Montgomery County. Zero.”¶

The bill passed in a 6-2 vote, with Senators Hensely and Powers voting against the measure. It now moves on to the full Senate.¶

Though some criticized the proposal as duplicative of 2025 legislation, the ban addresses an important nuance in the law.