The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) started a 5-year, $3.65 million contract with a private firm to manage the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program. While DBA Students First Technologies (SFT) is a relatively new company, ownership said it feels confident in its ability to partner with the state in serving Tennessee families exploring alternative education opportunities.
Company founder Mark Duran told The Tennessee Star that the software company’s role will be to “empower the TDOE with their platform’s tools in order to effectively run the state’s ESA program.”
TDOE will remain the direct administrator of the savings account program, using the technology platforms provided by SFT for assistance.
Duran (pictured above) said, “We will tailor our existing platforms, Theodore and Quinn IQ, to meet the state-specific administrative needs of the Tennessee Department of Education.”
Neither Duran nor his SFT co-founder Forrest Fowler are professional educators. Fowler founded a software development company called Sid3car in 2012. Despite their inexperience in education, they recognized the need for a market participant focused on delivering choice-empowering technologies.
Tennessee is the company’s first foray into a state-run scholarship program. SFT currently operates in 15 states, primarily assisting private non-profits in administering tax-credit scholarships and micro-grants. Over the last five years, they have helped secure over $300 million annually for families and their education needs.
Duran told The Star that the extension into partnering with a state education department was a natural progression for the company.
“We don’t have any affiliations, nor do we engage in any advocacy work,” said Duran. “We do as a company believe that every child has the right to a quality education.”
Initially, the organization was the runner-up in the bidding process. When negations with the winner fell through, the state successfully entered contract negotiations with Sid3car.
In 2020, former Commissioner Penny Schwinn bypassed the competitive bid process to hire ClassWallet to manage the fledgling voucher programs. That effort earned the anger of state legislators.
That contract was for $2.5 million for two years to manage online accounts and applications, with an option to extend the contract for up to $6.3 million for three more years. The state chose not to extend the contract past the initial two years.
Enrollment in the state’s ESA program was initially held up while the state courts considered the law’s constitutionality. Those legal hurdles were cleared last summer and enrollment resumed.
As of April 14, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) approved 705 ESA applicants in Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools for this school year. Of that number, 453 applicants had submitted proof that they’ve enrolled in a state-approved private school.  Each voucher gives a student $8,200 to use toward private school tuition.
This year State Lawmakers increased eligibility to include eligibility for students from Hamilton County.
Schwinn signed the contract between the state and SFT on May 18th. The TDOE has not yet released a timeline for implementing the new tools.
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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He also writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.
Photo “Mark Duran” by Mark Duran.Â
Academic Administrators can’t keep track of the money they fleece from the public as it is. why would anyone expect that they can keep track of another boondoggle such as this. The entire problem that caused the public to demand an alternative to public education began with these people. Why would you even consider allowing them to continue to manage their own failure. Turn it over to Private Education.
William – I have to agree with you this time. Public education WAS the foundation that made our country great. Now public education is failing the students and parents thereby requiring corrective action such as school choice.
What do we have all of the state employees if they cannot administer programs such as this?
Having “tailored” many existing software systems to meet the special needs of specific customers I figure that this is another state government trainwreck in the making.
We got TOO MUCH privatization, especially when it uses tax-payer money to subsidize itself. Privatization is a scheme by the very rich to squeeze out the rest of us just like the charter-school (especially the religious schools) by their use of TAX-PAYER money to wreck the neighborhood public school. This is all a scam by Lee and Company to deprive parents and their children of affordable quality public education. This is the foundation that once made our country great!