Though Gov. Bill Lee’s universal voucher program was met with resistance and ultimately failed to make it through the legislature this year, plenty of other bills that will both help and harm Tennessee’s students passed — some of which garnered significant controversy.
Lee’s pitch created a divide among Republican legislators and faced widespread criticism from school leaders
As the session began, public education advocates, school leaders and parents were coordinating efforts to oppose Lee’s universal voucher plan. The governor announced his plan, known as the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, in November, well before the start of the session. It would have allowed any student in the state to receive public money to put toward a private education. (A similar program is already available for certain students in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties.) Lee touted the initiative as a mechanism for school choice, but opponents worried it would drain funding from public schools and that there wouldn’t be sufficient accountability on schools, or on academic improvement for students in the program.
Democrats and some Republicans opposed the legislation — and even those who supported it had different ideas of how it should look. Three vastly different versions of the bill were introduced, and the House and Senate were ultimately unable to compromise. Gov. Lee said he was “extremely disappointed” that the legislation didn’t pass, but indicated we’ll see renewed efforts next year.
“We do not need to turn our back on our public school system,” outspoken voucher critic Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) told the Scene in early April. “We need to make sure that our public schools are the best.”
The bill passed despite opposition from teachers, students, advocates and Democrats. Here’s what it means.
Warner says he experienced “pushback from colleagues” and “political threats from a couple different organizations” because of his stance. Lobbying organizations supporting vouchers have a strong presence in Tennessee, and they’ve been known to attack candidates who don’t support vouchers in primary elections.
Controversial legislation that did pass includes a law allowing teachers to carry handguns in schools if they receive the proper certification and permission from district leaders and law enforcement. (Metro Nashville Public Schools and other districts across the state have since announced they will not allow teachers to carry firearms.) Another law requires schools to teach firearm safety training. Lawmakers also passed legislation that was first introduced during August’s special session, which was called to address the Covenant School shooting, such as a new law that requires schools to create a process to determine the cause of a fire alarm. A bill with bipartisan support now upgrades threats of mass violence at a school from a class-A misdemeanor to a class-E felony.
Among the most publicized proposals was one that would have banned Pride flags in public schools — it didn’t pass. But legislation that requires schools to report trans students’ gender identity to their parents did pass. So did legislation that will further censor materials in school libraries — the bill adds to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 by drilling down on what is considered appropriate and how book challenges can play out.
Move comes as comptroller's office issues audit reports including findings from 2019
After more than a year of related conversations, the legislature voted to vacate the Tennessee State University board of trustees. The move spurred widespread criticism from TSU advocates including Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville), who admitted that the state school has its issues but also pointed to decades of underfunding surpassing $2 billion.
The General Assembly also revised a reading law passed in 2021 — again. The legislation requires third-graders who don’t pass the reading sections of a state test to receive academic interventions or face retention. Last year, the legislature tweaked the law so that benchmark testing could be factored into that decision for third-graders. Fourth-graders also had to show sufficient growth on the state test to move onto fifth grade. New updates, however, allow those fourth-graders to move forward if the majority decision between their parent, teacher and principal advises that. If promoted, those students would receive tutoring in fifth grade.
From the governor’s failed voucher plan to culture-war legislation and a whole lot more
