Support Increases For Extending School Voucher Program To More Tennessee Counties

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Rebecca Scott] –

The chair of the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee, who also happens to be the vice-chairperson of the Senate Fiscal Review Committee and a member of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Todd Gardenhire, has vocalized his support for the expansion of Tennessee’s school voucher program.

Gardenhire, who was instrumental in extending the program to Hamilton County, says he believes that Tennessee parents have the right to choose the best educational opportunities for their children.

While Gardenhire recognizes that some rural counties do not have any private or religious school options and therefore may not be made part of the voucher program, he believes that the counties that possess private school options should be brought onboard in order to make those schools more affordable for qualifying families who desire to send their students somewhere other than their assigned local public school. 

Support from Governor Lee and Senator Gardenhire may help move legislation along even though there are democrats who are skeptical of expansion.

Reasons for opposition include lack of data regarding long-term success of the program, risks of funneling tax dollars into private and religious schools versus public schools, and belief that Educational Savings Account programs have not worked to improve educational outcomes in other states. 

Tennessee currently has approved 75 private schools in 3 counties to receive monies from the Educational Savings Accounts of some 2,000 approved families.

As Governor Lee, Senator Gardenhire, and Representative Mark White (R-Memphis) are determined to see school choice made available to many more Tennessee residents, other lawmakers complain that the original legislation was an intentional bait and switch, citing that, although the original legislation only included Davidson and Shelby counties, many were concerned that the long-term goal was to reach the other counties as well.

While those in the legislature are divided on the idea of vouchers, the majority of Tennesseans are in favor of the program.

The measure to expand of the voucher program will be brought before the legislature in January. 

Rebecca Scott is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Rebecca at Rebecca@tennesseeconservativenews.com.