Gov. Bill Lee’s universal voucher push is back via newly filed legislation from House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin). The legislation is the first bill filed for Tennessee’s 114th General Assembly, which will begin in January, and an attempt to revitalize the previous session’s unsuccessful attempt to pass similar legislation to allow students across the state to use public dollars to attend private schools.
Last November, Gov. Lee announced his desire to bring a universal voucher program to Tennessee. Though the legislature passed this year’s state budget with $144 million earmarked for such a program, corresponding legislation was not ultimately voted through — Democrats outright opposed it, and Republicans in the House and Senate couldn’t agree on how to go about it.
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Lamberth and Johnson have filed identical bills to be considered in 2025, indicating more unity among Republican leadership — though there will also be a new lineup of legislators voting on the bills in the wake of the Nov. 5 election.
“I'm very confident we have the votes,” Johnson told Williamson Scene reporter Hamilton Matthew Masters on election night. “We have the votes in the Senate. We have the votes in the House. Like with many complicated pieces of legislation, we have to work out some differences.”
The Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 would award 20,000 scholarships in its first year to families across the state, regardless of income. Half of those scholarships, however, would be set aside to prioritize students with disabilities, those who are eligible for the preexisting Education Savings Account Program and those whose “annual household income does not exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for free or reduced price lunch.” Five-thousand additional scholarships would be added each year, assuming that 75 percent of the previous year’s scholarships were utilized. The per-pupil scholarship amount aligns with that of the state’s public school funding formula base amount, which was most recently $7,075. The new legislation would also require students in third through 11th grades who utilize the program to take a nationally standardized achievement test or the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Test.
Included in the legislation is a $2,000 bonus for Tennessee public school teachers and the allocation of 80 percent of sports wagering dollars committed to improving K-12 public school facilities and infrastructure, with an emphasis on distressed and at-risk counties.
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“We're gonna continue to support and promote and improve public education,” said Johnson Tuesday night. “But while we're doing that, we should also get parents who have their kids trapped in a failing school a different alternative — and that's the reason for the bill.”
Newly reelected state Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) calls the legislation the “same scam, different language” and “an attempt to privatize education and completely dismantle and defund our public schools.”
Some sources have suggested that Gov. Lee might call a special session related to vouchers. Johnson tells the Williamson Scene, "There have been no serious conversations about that yet," and it's ultimately the governor's decision.
Update, 4 p.m.: Gov. Lee told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he isn't planning to call a special session to address vouchers or hurricane relief. "We're going to work with the legislature to make sure that we give parents choice," he said. "That we give relief to those in upper East [Tennessee], and that the legislature will determine what's the best way forward there."
Hamilton Matthew Masters contributed to this article.
