{"id":11769,"date":"2023-11-28T23:39:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T23:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scrapoid.com\/tennessee-gov-lee-pushes-for-school-voucher-expansion-removal-of-income-cap\/"},"modified":"2023-11-28T23:39:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T23:39:02","slug":"tennessee-gov-lee-pushes-for-school-voucher-expansion-removal-of-income-cap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scrapoid.com\/tennessee-gov-lee-pushes-for-school-voucher-expansion-removal-of-income-cap\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Gov. Lee pushes for school voucher expansion, removal of income cap"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee endorsed a plan to expand a three-county school voucher program Tuesday.<\/strong><\/li>\n
Lee expressed interest in expanding the program, currently open to low-income students in Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby counties \u2014 home to Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis, respectively \u2014 to cover all income levels and be implemented statewide.<\/strong><\/li>\n
“Tennessee\u2019s Education Freedom Scholarships will empower parents with the freedom to choose the right education for their child, while also giving them a say in how their taxpayer dollars are invested,” Lee posited in a news release.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday backed a plan to expand beyond a three-county school voucher program for low-income kids by offering public money for private schooling statewide, regardless of family income.<\/p>\n
State lawmakers narrowly approved the so-called education savings accounts initiative for the three counties in 2019. It awards eligible families around $8,100 in public tax dollars to help cover private school tuition and other preapproved expenses. The newest initiative will also need the approval of the state Legislature, where Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers.<\/p>\n
In 2019, lawmakers agreed in a tight vote to enact the original program after receiving assurances that it would only apply to Davidson and Shelby counties, both Democratic strongholds in Tennessee. Nashville, Memphis and civil rights leaders sued to stop the program, which was tied up in the courts and only implemented starting in the summer of 2022 after the Tennessee Supreme Court cleared a key legal obstacle.<\/p>\n
PA GOV. SHAPIRO PUSHES FOR SCHOOL VOUCHERS, MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE AND GUN VIOLENCE LEGISLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n
The new program Lee is proposing would make 20,000 education scholarships available next year, with half going to students who are lower income, disabled or otherwise able to participate in the current program. The remaining 10,000 would be available to any student entitled to attend a public school.<\/p>\n
“Tennessee\u2019s Education Freedom Scholarships will empower parents with the freedom to choose the right education for their child, while also giving them a say in how their taxpayer dollars are invested,” the governor said in a news release.<\/p>\n
Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, Lee is proposing universal eligibility for any student entitled to attend a public school. If applications exceed available scholarship money, priority will go to lower income, public-school and returning scholarship students.<\/p>\n