The Tennessee Star obtained on Monday a draft of the forthcoming Education Freedom Scholarship Act previously announced by Governor Bill Lee in November.
Lee announced in November that he would champion new school choice legislation in 2024 that will ultimately allow all Tennessee families to choose where their children are educated.
A spokesman for Lee’s office did not confirm whether the draft reflects legislation that is ready to be filed, but told The Star the governor “has been working with legislative leadership and members of the General Assembly for months to discuss the Education Freedom Scholarship Act’s framework and is encouraged by their participation.”
“As is common practice, leaders will file a caption bill in both chambers to allow for further discussion as the measure moves through the legislative process,” Lee’s press secretary informed The Star.
The undated draft of the legislation, which appears to be credited to Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), explains its goal is to “empower parents with the freedom to choose the right education for their child and provide parents a say in where their tax dollars are spent.”
Under the draft legislation, any student who is entitled to attend a public school and “not enrolled in a home school for which the parent is required to provide annual notice” would be eligible to receive a scholarship, but scholarship assignments would be made based on family income and other criteria.
The legislation stipulates that, for the 2024-2025 school year, only 20,000 scholarships will be made available. However, the draft reveals that 10,000 of these scholarships will be made available to any student on a first come, first serve basis.
According to the draft legislation, the remaining 10,000 scholarships will be restricted to students from families whose combined income do not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
It was previously reported that all scholarships for the 2024-2025 school year would be restricted based on income, meaning the draft may indicate a more expansive bill than originally expected.
For the 2025-2026 school year, the draft stipulates how students will be selected to receive the scholarships if the number of applicants exceeds the number of available scholarships, but does not dictate how many scholarships will be made available.
The draft bill contains no further restrictions for future academic years, likely indicating the legislation’s benefits would be made available to all Tennessee families in the 2026-2027 school year.
According to the draft legislation, the scholarship funds could be used on tuition, fees, uniforms, textbooks, tutoring, transportation fees, computers and other technology, and for summer school programs.
In addition to Johnson being present at Lee’s event in November, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), and Lt. Governor Randy McNally assembled to support the school choice legislation.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gov Bill Lee” by Gov Bill Lee.
