A couple of years ago, I was presenting at a small education conference in New York when someone asked what a success indicator might be for a dynamic, decentralized education marketplace.
“When we see some schools shutting down,” I responded.
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Candidates who support school choice won big in Republican primaries Tuesday night in Texas. The majority of Republican primary voters also passed a nonbinding proposition supporting school choice.
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Better schools, brighter future.
This is not a pithy slogan. For me, it’s personal.
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Founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee JC Bowman joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the leaked draft of Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
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Governor Kim Reynolds checked off just about everything on her to-do list in the recently wrapped-up legislative session.
From universal school choice to passage of a sweeping government restructuring plan, the popular Republican governor accomplished much of what she set out to do on the way to bolstering her rising national political profile.
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The State House Education Administration committee rolled a bill until next week that is designed to expand Tennessee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) pilot program. The postponement on Wednesday was necessitated because the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) was unavailable to supply lawmakers with needed information.
HB0433 would expand eligibility for enrollment to those who attend school in a district with five or more priority schools identified as being in the bottom 10 percent for performance. Currently, only students in Nashville, Memphis, and the Achievement School District (ASD) are eligible. This bill would allow students in Knoxville and Chattanooga. The Senate companion has already passed, but that version only includes Chattanooga.
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The Florida House of Representatives passed a significant expansion of the state’s education savings account program Friday.
House Bill 1, authored by Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, would expand school choice to all 2.9 million school-aged children. The bill would remove income requirements from the education savings account law and end the waiting list for children with disabilities awaiting a scholarship.
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Florida House Speaker Paul Renner announced on Thursday that he’d filed school choice legislation that would provide education savings accounts and expand eligibility to children with unique abilities.
House Bill 1, which is sponsored by Choice & Innovation Subcommittee Chairwoman Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, would expand the state’s ESA program, known as the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. It would allow the money to be used for tuition at a home education or private school, private tutoring or an approved online course.
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Delegate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach) has introduced a bill to create education savings accounts (ESAs) for parents that would receive a portion of state education funds; the money-follows-the-student bill is in line with long-sought Republican education goals.
“This is about where our children should go to school,” Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears said at a Thursday press conference.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Director of the American Federation for Children John Patton to the newsmakers line to discuss the advancement of the educational savings account program for families in Shelby and Davidson counties.
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A Tennessee trial court heard arguments on Friday in an attempt to place another injunction on the Education Savings Account program for Davidson and Shelby counties.
The new ESA program, set to begin with this school year, is now being contested based upon its swift implementation. Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center argued that, since schools did not have time to budget for the potential loss of student funds due to the late implementation of the new program, that an injunction would be required.
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A local group called The Exodus Minnesota is hosting an alternative education expo. The Exodus is run by five black moms who want to show other families in the Twin Cities the benefits to alternative education. The website explains that they believe that public schools have become “centers of racist indoctrination.”
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State Senator Ryan Aument (R-Lititz) on Thursday introduced legislation that will expand parents’ access to school choice during the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure, Senate Bill 1015, will create an Education Savings Account, allowing parents to potentially receive funding to send their children to schools that are better equipped to address their child’s needs.
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The Michigan Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a sweeping school choice plan that funds student learning through education savings accounts.
Called Michigan Student Opportunity Accounts, the legislation would allow parents to utilize state dollars as they see fit, by either staying in the traditional government system, enrolling in another option such as a private or virtual school, or receiving additional tutoring or other support.
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For the 2021-2022 school year, Virginia’s schools will be required to provide both full-time in-person and virtual learning options to students, thanks to Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) SB 1303. A bipartisan effort in the House Education committee led to a bill that passed out of the House of Delegates 88 to nine, and was approved by the Senate on Thursday 36 to three. Although Republicans weren’t able to get support for an emergency clause that would have triggered the requirements before July, Governor Ralph Northam is also calling for schools to begin phasing in in-person learning.
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The Georgia House Education Committee introduced legislation to fund education savings accounts for qualifying parents. House Bill 60, or the “Georgia Educational Scholarship Act,” proposes granting certain state educational funds to parents directly rather than schools.
The bill would allow students with circumstances including poverty, foster care, active duty military parent(s), disability, bullying, or mandated distance learning to apply certain state educational funds to attend the participating school of their choice.
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A trio of organizations filed an amicus brief in the Tennessee Supreme Court asking justices to accept an appeal of a lawsuit over the educational savings account (ESA).
The American Federation for Children joined Latinos for Tennessee and the Memphis Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the filing. The AFC is an affiliate of the the Alliance for School Choice.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed American Federation for Children’s Tennessee Director Shaka Mitchell to discuss how families deserve education options for their children.
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A judge ruled that the Tennessee Education Savings Account (ESA) Pilot Program is unconstitutional, and a nonpartisan think tank says that could harm children.
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A legal motion filed Friday in Davidson County asks the courts to halt the implementation of the Tennessee Education Savings Account (ESA) Program.
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Nashville Democratic State Representative Bo Mitchell filed HB 1550 on August 21 in a move that would delete the Tennessee Education Savings Account (ESA) Pilot Program.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is pushing to launch his school voucher program a year early, in the 2020-2021 school year, education blog Chalkbeat said. The General Assembly had set a deadline of the 2021-2022 school year, the blog said. Lee told the Tennessee Department of Education to work with the Tennessee Board of Education to make the early launch happen for the Education Savings Account (ESA), or vouchers. Chalkbeat also said the early launch would move up the pace of expected lawsuits by organizations like the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, which is preparing to challenge the law’s constitutionality. The law excludes students whose families enter the country illegally. Other critics say they worry about the potential for fraud. At least five school systems that have formally opposed vouchers have not done a good job of preparing their students for college, The Tennessee Star reported in May. The five school systems in Tennessee that have come out to formally oppose school vouchers haven’t exactly done that great of a job preparing students for college. This, according to statewide statistics members of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission reported last week. As The Tennessee Star reported, representatives from some of…
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On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – hosts Gill and Leahy welcomed Shaka Mitchell, Tennessee Director the American Federation for Children to the show to talk about the Gov. Lee’s education savings account legislation finally passing. Towards the end of the segment, the men questioned whether or not the bill might face future litigation since the House and Senate had opposing views on the illegal alien aspect of the bill. The education savings account is expected to be signed immediately by Governor Bill Lee. Gill: Teachers are apparently on a sick out in Davidson County today. Protesting that they’re not getting as big a pay raise as they would like. They want a ten percent pay raise instead of the three percent that Davidson County has apparently budgeted. Well, see if that will help spur more people to leave the public schools where the results are bad and the teachers are demanding more pay with the Education Savings Account coming to Davidson County in a couple of years. One of the guys that was behind that successful…
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As the current legislative session races to a close, one of Governor Bill Lee’s top priorities hangs in the balance. The Education Savings Account (ESA) plan secured narrow victories in the House and Senate, with passage in the House requiring a flipped “no” to “yes” vote by Knoxville Republican Jason Zachary to break a 49-49 tie and move the bill forward. The bill now rests in the hands of a Conference Committee that is seeking to negotiate a final version that can pass both bodies. Two key sticking points remain: how should the legislature treat home school students and should illegal aliens be afforded access to the $7300 voucher payments. The home school issue appears to be close to resolution; but the House seems adamant that taxpayer dollars should not be provided to those illegally in the country, in part because of fears that it will make Tennessee a magnet to more illegal immigration as a hundred thousand illegal aliens pour across the southern border each month. The battle over funding education for illegal aliens has been a talking point for opponents to the Lee plan for quite some time. And despite the fact that the law REQUIRES educating…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Governor Bill Lee’s most significant – and controversial – education initiative of Education Savings Accounts passed in the State Senate Thursday with a vote of 20 Ayes and 13 Nays. As The Tennessee Star reported, President Trump tweeted his support for the measure Wednesday evening, the day after the Tennessee House narrowly passed the Education Savings Account (ESA) initiative amidst high drama by a vote of 50 Ayes and 48 Noes. Prior to addressing the ESA bill as the first item on the Senate’s regular calendar or even taking a roll call, newly-elected Senator Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) was formally introduced to his colleagues on the Senate floor by Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin). Johnson, in his introduction of Powers, told Senate members that Powers had earlier taken his oath in the Governor’s office. Powers was elected on Tuesday through a special election to replace former State Senator Mark Green, who was elected as the U.S. Congressman of the 7th District in November 2018. Votes cast in the special election totaled 12,051, according to the unofficial election results submitted by county election commissions to the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections, Mark Goins, and posted on the Tennessee Secretary…
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Tennessee’s efforts to provide school choice have captured President Donald Trump’s attention. The president on Wednesday tweeted, “The Great State of Tennessee is so close to passing School Choice. All of our Nation’s children, regardless of background, deserve a shot at achieving the American Dream! Time to get this done, so important!” The Great State of Tennessee is so close to passing School Choice. All of our Nation’s children, regardless of background, deserve a shot at achieving the American Dream! Time to get this done, so important! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019 The Tennessee Star reported on Tuesday’s dramatic vote by the State House to approve Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) bill. Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) changed his vote from No to Aye to break the tie after Knox County Schools were exempted from the ESA program. Zachary tweeted, “Update on my ESA vote…. Knox County is out, held fiscally harmless and our teachers get their raises!” Update on my ESA vote….Knox County is out, held fiscally harmless and our teachers get their raises! pic.twitter.com/K583kzdE5u — Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) April 23, 2019 The ESA bill is expected to get a Senate floor vote…
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In a dramatic and historic turn of events the Tennessee House has passed the Education Savings Account plan advocated by Governor Bill Lee by a 50-48 margin. Earlier today the Senate Finance Committee passed the bill towards the Senate floor by a 6-5 margin. The initial vote in the House was a 49-49 tie, with Representative Debra Moody being absent due to the death of her mother. For nearly an hour, House Speaker Glen Casada and legislative leaders sought to flip the vote of at least one legislator to get to a majority. Finally, after negotiating to have Knox County removed from the voucher plan, Rep. Jason Zachary flipped his vote from no to yes to secure passage of the bill. House Speaker Glen Casada acknowledged that Governor Bill Lee made phone calls to several legislators while the vote remained open. Several, including members of House Leadership such as Ron Gant (Assistant House Majority Leader) Cameron Sexton (House Caucus Chair) and Mark Cochran (Treasurer) refused to support the legislation. In the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Todd Gardenhire secured the removal of Hamilton County from the bill in order to gain his approval and move the bill forward. Speaker Pro…
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On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Steve Gill welcomed Shaka Mitchell from the American Federation for Children to the show to talk about the Gov. Lee’s Education Savings Account legislation that is up for a vote on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives this morning, Tuesday, April 23. Mitchell told Gill he expected the bill would make it through the Tennessee House in today’s vote. Gill: One of the other bills that’s coming up today in the legislature as we get this mad rush to conclude this legislature session is the education savings account legislation that’s working it’s way through still through the Senate and the House. Big House vote coming up today and Shaka Mitchell from the American Federation for Children is on with us to give us a little update on what’s going on there. Shaka good to have you with us. Mitchell: Hey good morning Steve. Thanks for having me. Gill: This bill is changing hourly maybe momentarily. At lease the Senate version now instead of being in five counties will only be in…
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A group of about 50 people gathered outside the Tennessee Capitol Tuesday to protest Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) plan. The 50 teachers, parents and other advocates voiced concerns about Lee’s support of education savings accounts, WBBJ said. Many of the teachers wore sunglasses “to show that they feared retribution if identified in the small crowd,” the station said. This small protest came days after 200 gathered at a GOP event in Knoxville, where Lee attended, the station said. An organization identifying itself as Tennessee Strong sent the press an email Tuesday morning announcing the rally. The group said one participant was State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-TN-55), a candidate for mayor of Metro Nashville. The email said: Please join parents, teachers, clergy leaders, public representatives, including state rep John Ray Clemmons, and Tennessee Strong, a grassroots statewide coalition of parents as we announce a statewide call to action in response to Gov Lee’s proposal for vouchers, which ultimately divests public education funds from already vulnerable populations. Please join us at Beth Harwell Plaza in Nashville, TN, TODAY at noon to learn more about the potential impact of vouchers on Tennessee education as well as the call to action. It is super important for…
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by Sam Nienow Why is educational freedom a personal issue to me? Because 17 years ago, my big brother had cancer. In 2002, when my brother was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, he received excellent care at Vanderbilt Medical Center. But the treatment and recovery still took months, and I spent much of that time with him. Our dad worked at the GM plant in Spring Hill at the time, so my mom could afford to take the time off to homeschool me. A lot of families would not have been able to do what we did. Today, too many kids in our state are living in difficult situations – a bad illness in the family, trying economic circumstances, or maybe constant bullying from classmates – but don’t have the options that I was blessed enough to have as a 10-year-old. That’s what makes me so dedicated to the idea of educational freedom. Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal for educations scholarship accounts (ESAs) would provide 5,000 students – with an additional 2,500 added every year — in low-performing schools a scholarship, based on the state’s per-student funding of about $7,300 year that they could use for tutoring, private school tuition,…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The much anticipated vote by the House Education Committee on Governor Bill Lee’s Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) proposal resulted in a huge victory on Wednesday with a 14 to 9 vote in favor of the bill. House Hearing Room I was once again standing room only, despite the early 8 a.m. start time. As with previous meetings, there were attendees wearing red signaling opposition to ESAs as well as stickers with a line drawn through the word vouchers. This time, the room was filled with even more people obviously in favor of ESAs as evidenced by the blue “ESAs NOW” stickers they were wearing. Chairman Mark White (R-Memphis) announced at the outset of the meeting that the ESA legislation under HB 0939 as the first item on the agenda would be delayed to 9 a.m. for the meeting that started at 8 a.m. The delay was to accommodate bill that had been rolled due to lengthy discussions on other bills the last few weeks. White also said that after hearing testimony, the committee would go back into session at 10:15 a.m. for a vote with a planned adjournment at 11 a.m. The Chairman also said he recognized…
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As of Monday morning, State Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) is still a no vote on Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) bill. As The Tennessee Star reported last week, however, that is subject to change, depending on how Lee tailors the bill to address Cepicky’s concerns. Cepicky told The Star Sunday night he was still waiting for Lee’s changes. “From what I understand, there is some kind of amendment coming out,” Cepicky said. “I am waiting to see what it is. I haven’t seen anything.” Other than that, Cepicky said he had no other updates. As reported, Lee is adding various amendments to address Cepicky’s concerns. Cepicky said those concerns include some of the language about income limitations. Another of Cepicky’s concerns — “the districts that are affected and students that are in that district as a whole, whether they went to a priority school or not and would have access to the ESA program.” Cepicky said the bill is complex. He also said Lee was open to hearing his and other state representatives’ concerns. As The Tennessee Star reported, Tennessee students in urban cities could start escaping failing schools in fall 2021 through Lee’s proposed plan. The governor briefly…
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