Credit for all photos: Adelia Kirchner / The Tennessee Conservative
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
All last week, Tennesseans of varying backgrounds showed up to their state capitol building to keep tabs on Gov. Bill Lee’s (R-TN) “Education Freedom Scholarship Act” as the legislation quickly moved through committees and arrived on the chamber floors during a special legislative session which lasted only four days.
The state’s special session on school vouchers, illegal immigration, and disaster relief for East Tennessee, began on Monday of last week and the legislature had completed their business by Thursday afternoon.
Groups of lobbyists, students, parents, and teachers on both sides of the school voucher debate swarmed the Capitol all week and the final day of special session was no exception.
Some anti-school voucher protestors lined up outside of the legislative chambers, handing out “voucher scam money” and shouting “Vote no,” “Protect public schools!” and “Scam! Scam! Scam!” as lawmakers walked by.
“I’ve looked it up. 84% of the private schools here have a Christian Foundation, and that’s fine,” Steven Phelps with Americans United for Separation of Church and State told The Tennessee Conservative.
“We’re not against them, but I dare to say that if 84% of our private schools were Islamic, this legislature wouldn’t be meeting right now trying to pass a voucher bill to give $7000 plus, for all the fine Islamic families out there wanting to send their children to a private school,” Phelps said.
Phelps explained that Americans United for the Separation of Church and State feels that the only way keeping government out of religion and vice versa can be achieved, is if no one has favoritism.
It was at this time that Phelps referenced the buttons his group was wearing, which read “Freedom Without Favor. Equality Without Exception.”
The group also shared concerns about students in impoverished schools, low-income families, special needs students, and students with behavioral problems being left behind by this type of program.
“It’s a way to segregate out your preferred clientele,” said Phelps. “It seems like it’s a, kind of just a way, to pad the pockets of those who need it least and deny real help to the people who need it most.”
That afternoon, SB6001/HB6004 passed by a 54-44 vote in the House of Representatives and a 20-13 vote in the Senate.
Following the passage of this controversial legislation, The Tennessee Conservative spoke to Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston-District 32) about all of the protests.
“Yeah we had some of that, and they screamed the ugly names and all that kind of stuff. You know, sticks and stones,” said Rep. Fritts. “I know they’re impassioned about their cause, but it hurt their own cause.”
Rep. Fritts was one of 21 Republican lawmakers in the House to vote against the governor’s “Education Freedom Scholarship Act.”
However, as Rep. Fritts explained in an interview with The Tennessee Conservative, he was against the legislation for different reasons than the protesters.
“I think we have three areas in our free system of public schools that we’ve allowed to really damage schools, and they’re little, tiny fractional, fringe elements of our public schools,” he said, citing an increase in wokeism, obscenity, and microcultures of mediocrity within the public school system.
“I think Tennessee is the envy of much of the country in our [Kindergarten] through college education, because of the way we’ve invested and because of the teachers,” said Rep. Fritts. “Some of the folks that were screaming at us today are the ones that are supporting some of those things that are damaging, and so it makes lots of parents want another choice, and they have that choice, it’s just the cost to it.”
“I wish they would rethink their position,” he continued. “I was voting against something that I think was a bad bill. It’s not in good alignment with the [Tennessee] Constitution. I am not voting in support of some of those Marxist ideologies I heard promoted today.”
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
Rural area legislators sold their people out. We get NOTHING but the bill.
“Some of the folks that were screaming at us today are the ones that are supporting some of those things that are damaging, and so it makes lots of parents want another choice, and they have that choice, it’s just the cost to it.”
Hay Mr “Numbnut”
if the system the Private Schools are using is such an “Improvement” why not incorporate that system into the Public schools so “EVERYBODY” has an “EQUAL CHANCE”???
Are those “CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS” so large you’re willing to “SELL” out the people and kids of Tennessee???