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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
As school begins for Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools, the state has yet to accept any students into the newly approved voucher system and has not approved any schools to accept those vouchers.
According to the USA Today Network, the Tennessee Department of Education says it has neither approved or denied any of the applications received by either families or schools at this point.
Department of Education spokesperson Brian Blackley stated in an email, “At this time, with applications still coming in, we are continuing to review and have not made determinations of eligibility.”
The program which was approved in 2019 is known as the Education Savings Account, is set up to allow eligible students in both Shelby and Davidson Counties to receive funding to help cover the costs of private school tuition. Both school systems challenged the program, stating that it was a violation of the state constitution because it only applied to two counties and they had not given their consent.
The courts disagreed and ruled this summer that the state could move forward immediately. There are other legal challenges to overcome, but the Tennessee Supreme Court opted not to block the program while those were still being heard.
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Prior to the courts giving the go ahead, Governor Lee stated that over 2,000 families had given notice of their intention to participate in the two weeks after the injunction was lifted. However, recent reported numbers show that very few families have actually applied now that it is officially available. As of Monday, Blackley said only 30 families had completed the application.
Additionally, only 40 private schools applied to accept the vouchers by the end of that application period. Before the program website was relaunched, there was a list of more than 60 schools that had expressed interest.
The state says the intention of the program is to allow students who are zoned for low-performing schools to have an opportunity to attend a private school that can provide a higher quality education.
Blackley says the number of applicants is “changing daily,” but he did not give any indication of how many more they anticipate.
Currently, only families who make less than double the federal guidelines for free/reduced lunch are eligible. This is about $60,000 per year for a family of three or $72,000 per year for a family of four.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
