Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Private School Voucher Expansion Bill

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in Nashville on Jan. 18, 2021. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved a universal private school voucher bill that expands the number of families who can use taxpayer money to pay for tuition at private schools, regardless of their income.

House lawmakers voted 54–44 to pass the bill, and the Senate later voted 20–13 to approve it.

Under the legislation, 20,000 education vouchers of about $7,200 each would become available during the next school year to help students cover the costs of tuition, tutoring, and educational expenses at private schools.

About 10,000 of those would go to students who are lower income, have certain disabilities, or are otherwise able to participate in the new voucher program.

The other 10,000 scholarships would be available for eligible students, regardless of whether they meet any of those criteria.

An eligible student is defined in the bill as a resident of Tennessee “who is entitled to attend a public school, except for a student enrolled in a home school or in a church-related school, with which the student’s parent is associated, registered, or is participating as a parent-teacher for purposes of law related to homeschooling.”

The bill also raises teacher bonuses, increases K–12 facilities funding, and ensures state funding to school districts will not decrease due to disenrollment.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the bill’s passage was “a milestone in advancing education” in Tennessee, in a statement posted to social media platform X on Thursday.

“I’ve long believed we can have the best public schools and give parents a choice in their child’s education, regardless of income or zip code,” Lee said.

The governor is expected to quickly sign the measure into law.

Roughly 65 percent of the vouchers are expected to be awarded to students who already attend private schools, while around 35 percent will go to students switching out of public schools, according to the Legislature’s analysis of the proposal.

The analysis is based on data from eight states that have adopted school choice programs similar to the one passed by lawmakers in Tennessee.

“Make no mistake, this is welfare for the wealthy,” said Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons during Thursday’s floor debate.

Republicans have defended the lax income limits, arguing parents need more choices, regardless of wealth.

People hold signs over the House floor during a special session of the state Legislature in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 27, 2025. George Walker IV/AP Photo

“As the sponsor of this legislation, I’ve never once said that this was a program designed for disadvantaged families,” GOP state Sen. Jack Johnson said.

Earlier this week, Trump backed the school voucher measure while praising the efforts of Tennessee legislators to pass the bill.

“We will very soon be sending Education BACK TO THE STATES, where it belongs,” Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. “It is our goal to bring Education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump signed two executive orders this week related to school choice, including one directing the Department of Education to issue guidance on how states can use federal education funds to support “choice initiatives.”

His second directive ends federal funding for schools that adopt critical race theory and gender ideology in classroom learning. The directive states that in recent years, “parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.