Tennessee Families Still Waiting For School Voucher Program Approval

Image Credit: Taylor Wilcox / Unsplash

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

According to a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Education, 203 families had applied for the new Education Savings Program as of last week. The vouchers received through the program can be used to cover the cost of tuition at participating private schools, as well as other schooling-related expenses.

One parent hoping to gain access to the program is Davidson County resident Giovanni Mejia. Mejia is hoping to be able to enroll his children at Holy Rosary Academy in Donelson, but he needs the funding from the program to be able to do so.

“Without this program, I wouldn’t be able to provide my kids with the education that I would like for them to have,” Mejia said in an interview with WPLN.

Mejia says he would like to be able to send his children to a school that teaches values that align with his family’s religion, but he does not have an issue with public schools.

“For example, in our case, we would prefer that they be in a Catholic school because we are Catholic,” he stated.

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There are currently 40 private schools in Tennessee who have applied to participate as recipients of the vouchers. A number of those are Catholic schools. Their administrators say the $8,192 that families receive in vouchers would almost cover the cost of tuition.

The voucher amounts would only put a small dent in the price to attend some of the other participating private schools. 

Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville charges up to $22,530 per year in tuition. While the voucher would help families afford the cost, opponents of the program say it will not really help to make those schools accessible to a significant number of children.

Governor Lee says that they are still working to move forward with the program, after a three-judge panel agreed to let them continue even though they stated that the believed the state was rushing to get the program going.

“It’s really important for us that we rolled it out timely, but that we also do so with real high quality,” said Lee. “And that’s what we’re attempting to do right now.”

The State Department of Education has not yet said when they anticipate that families will be approved for the vouchers.

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