State lawmakers pass Governor Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act

Stock photo of the exterior of the Tennessee State Capitol

Members of the Tennessee State House and Senate provided a major policy win for Governor Bill Lee Thursday afternoon by approving his plan to let families use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school.

House members voted 54 to 44 in favor of the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025, with 21 Republicans joining every Democrat opposing the plan including Representatives Rebecca Alexander, R-Jonesborough; Fred Atchley, R-Sevierville; Jeff Burkhart, R-Clarksville; Jody Barrett, R-Dickson; Rush Bricken, R-Tullahoma; Tandy Darby, R-Greenfield; Monty Fritts, R-Kingston; David Hawk, R- Greeneville; Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville; Dan Howell, R-Cleveland; Chris Hurt, R-Halls; Renea Jones, R-Unicoi; Kelly Keisling, R-Byrdstown; Kevin Raper, R-Cleveland; Michele Reneau, R-Signal Mountain; Lowell Russell, R-Vonore; Rick Scarbrough, R-Oak Ridge; Paul Sherrell, R-Sparta; Tom Stinnett, R-Friendsville; Ron Travis. R-Dayton; and Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill.

Representative Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the bill but a party spokesperson tells the Tennessee Firefly that vote was in error and Pearson has requested his vote to be changed to opposing the bill. As of Thursday afternoon, that request had not been granted.

Senators voted 20 to 13 for the plan. Every Democrat in the chamber voted against it along with 7 Republicans including Senators Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma; Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville; Bobby Harshbarger, R-Hawkins and Sullivan Counties; Tom Hatcher, R-Blount, Monroe, Polk, and Bradley Counties; Jessie Seal, R-Tazewell; Steve Southerland, R-Morristown; and Page Walley, R-Savannah.

“Today is a very important day for the State of Tennessee, for every single Tennessean I believe. We took historic action on pressing issues and we did it in real world time,” said Governor Bill Lee following the vote. “Universal school choice is now a reality for Tennessee families. I’ve said all along that we should and could have the best public schools in America and provide parents with choice, and we’ve done that.”

The plan, frequently referred to by opponents 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 total fiscal impact of the entire legislation is estimated to be more than $400 million.

A similar proposal failed last year, and Governor Lee specifically campaigned on passing universal school choice leading up to the August Republican Primary. Lawmakers held a special session this week to focus on the Governor’s plan along with illegal immigration and Hurricane Helene relief.

House rejects all amendments

Republicans in the House voted down more than two dozen amendments proposed by Democrats Thursday morning to alter the legislation to make the teacher bonus permanent and to add accountability requirements.

Representative Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, proposed multiple failed amendments including one that would require private schools taking part to ensure their teachers are licensed and follow the state-approved academic standards public schools follow.

“Private schools currently can teach anything they want. You all insisted that our (teachers) teach the standards you developed, but for some reason, these folks don’t have to follow those standards,” said Johnson. “Folks this is ridiculous. It is hypocritical to say we’re going to give public tax dollars to schools with zero accountability.”

Republicans argue that the families who participate in the program will provide accountability along with a provision that requires participating students to take annual assessments,

“These schools are already accredited by the Board of Education or the Department of Education, these students are required to take national norm tests, and the parents of these students are certainly holding the schools and the teachers accountable,” said Representative Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville.

Republican House members also voted down the one amendment proposed by a fellow Republican. Representative Chris Hurt proposed preventing participating private schools from discriminating against special needs students in the admissions process.

Hurt’s youngest child is a special needs student, and he told lawmakers the amendment was personal for him and his wife.

“This passes like it reads, I’ve got to look at her and say, ‘I’m ok with not offering the same opportunities for our youngest as I do our older four.’ I’m not ok with that. I don’t want to have that conversation with her and I don’t wanna have that conversation with any parent of a special needs student from across this state,” said Hurt.

Hurt’s amendment failed following lengthy debate about the challenges many private schools would have accepting every special needs student that applies, and questions about how courts might interpret the “discrimination” language in Hurt’s amendment.

“My worry is with this language, and I get it, it’s a short sentence, but lawyers and courts fight for years over short sentences just like this,” said Representative William Lamberth, R-Portland. “I am concerned that a school would not even be able to ask what disabilities they have, and then they have no idea whether they can actually provide for them.”

Representative Hurt does have the option of proposing a separate bill during the regular session that resumes next week to add additional protections for special needs children.

Senators use NAEP test to make their case on school choice

Senators passed the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 after the House vote.

Much like their House counterparts, Senate Democrats attacked the plan as an attempt to take resources away from public schools, and they also referenced testing.

Senator Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, said state testing and the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test are proof that letting families use tax dollars to attend private school is not a guaranteed success.

“The pilot program that has been in Memphis, Nashville, and Hamilton County, those students have not done better than their peers in traditional public schools. It’s around 20 percentage points less. The NAEP scores just came out…one day ago…but in Florida where they spend $3 billion plus dollars on educational vouchers every year, those students scored the lowest than they have in 20 years,” said Akbari. “We pride ourselves on being a fiscally responsible state, fiscally conservative state, and yet we are taking a significant plunge with no proof that these vouchers will be successful.”

Senator Bo Watson, R-Hixson, pushed back on criticism, arguing the state has the revenue to afford the program and he also referenced the NAEP testing, pointing out Tennessee students outperformed the national average in reading and math for the first time in part because of other education reforms lawmakers have passed in recent years.

“All of the reforms that we have been criticized for by the opposition over the years are now beginning to bear fruit because many of the students who are now starting to experience those education reforms are starting to show the results of those education reforms. Whether it’s in math or it’s in literacy we are beginning to see the fruits of our labor,“ said Watson. “Those ideas were birthed in this body and so we should not forget how much progress we have made and how much progress we still have to make.“