Tennessee Lawmakers Say School Voucher Report Leaves Unanswered Questions

Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook

The Center Square [By Kim Jarrett] –

The Tennessee Department of Education released the latest statistics on the Education Freedom Scholarships, but some lawmakers said more information is needed.

State officials said more than 42,000 applications were received for the 20,000 school choice scholarships, which were split between those who met income requirements and students who were not required to meet the requirements.

The department said 21,164 applications were from students who met qualified income requirements, meaning that the annual household income must not exceed 300% of the federal guidelines for a free or reduced-price lunch. That amounts to an income of $173,160 for a family of four.

The remaining 21,663 scholarship applications did have an income requirement.

The department’s reports said applications were received from 94 out of 95 counties and the award recipients are from 86 counties.

The Center Square was unsuccessful getting more information on the recipients from the Education Department.

Democrats say more transparency is needed.

“The state’s new voucher program offers $7,300 per student, but half of the 20,000 slots have no income limits – meaning taxpayers could be subsidizing private school tuition for families who are already able to afford it,” said Senate Democrat Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar, D-Memphis. “Tennesseans deserve transparency about where these vouchers are going, which counties the applications came from, and whether they’re expanding opportunity or just shifting public money into private schools. “

Lawmakers approved the scholarships during a special session, but the support was not unanimous among Republicans. Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, a congressional candidate, raised concerns in July about the lack of data on where the students previously attended school.

“The Department of Education has intentionally, I think, omitted that question or that data point so they don’t have to answer that question or that data point so they don’t have to answer that question from members of the Legislature or the media or the public as to where this money is going and if it’s actually providing, any ‘educational freedom’ to the kids that are ‘trapped in a failing public school,'” Barrett said.