It’s been talked about at the Capitol for several years.
Gov. Bill Lee has had an uphill battle getting the bill passed. Educators and several lawmakers were hoping that it wouldn’t come to fruition.
But, Senate and House of Representatives voted on Thursday to pass Gov. Bill Lee’s statewide expansion of school vouchers, otherwise known as the Tennessee Education Freedom Act of 2025.
It’s all about “choice,” according to Gov. Bill Lee.
After hours of debate on both sides of the issue, the vote in the House finished with a 53-46 decision. Some Republican lawmakers did vote against the measure.
HB 6004 provides the framework for how public tax dollars would fund tuition expenses for students who want to attend private school. House Majority Leader William Lamberth and Sen. Jack Johnson are still the bill's primary sponsors for the Education Freedom Act of 2025. The bill included the layout for the vouchers, a one-time bonus for public school teachers and maintenance money for public school buildings across the state.
This is a plan under the direction of the Tennessee Department of Education for the next 3 school years.
The baseline voucher amount is $7,000.
The measure will cost about $447 million.
Education Freedom Act of 2025 will offer 20,000 scholarships or vouchers worth about $7,296 each in taxpayer funds to students statewide to attend Category I-III state-accredited private schools. Students attending independent home schools and umbrella church-related home schools would not be eligible to participate.
See more of this story in the Thursday, Feb. 6, edition of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette.
