House GOP Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison pours cold water on the idea of expanding Gov. Bill Lee’s private school coupon scheme:
Cold Water
Author Archives: Andy Spears
Another Music City Miracle?
TC Weber reports on a charter application by a former Tennessee Titan:
A familiar name from the Music City Miracle is now making a different kind of play.
Kevin Dyson—former Titans receiver, longtime educator, and recent principal at Centennial High School—is seeking to open a charter school focused on student athletes.
Music City Academy aims to launch in 2027, offering robust athletics alongside academics and career exploration beyond playing the game.
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Voucher Numbers
TC Weber takes a look at the state’s voucher numbers:
This week, the Tennessee Comptroller released a 163-page analysis of the second program. Reviews are mixed—and appropriately so.
The report shows:
- Program growth from 452 students to nearly 3,700
- Participation still far below the 15,000 seats authorized
- Of 98,000 eligible students, only 7,019 applied (7.2%)
Several findings deserve closer scrutiny:
- 24–36% of ESA recipients never used their vouchers
- It’s unclear where unused funds went
- The majority of ESA students did not attend public school the prior year
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Concentrated Losses
Nashville blogger TC Weber adds additional insight into his look at student attrition in MNPS.
Two key notes:
Here’s what that comparison shows:
- August 2025: 81,066 students
- January 2026: 78,943 students
That’s a net loss of 2,123 students in just five months.
Which schools are losing students?
When we look at schools that remained open and consistently coded, the largest enrollment losses are concentrated in familiar places:
- Antioch High School: –184
- McGavock High School: –184
- John Overton High School: –124
- Cane Ridge High School: –118
- Glencliff High School: –94
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Will Pittsburgh Adopt an ASD Model?
You remember Tennessee’s Achievement School District (ASD)? You know, the abject failure of a policy implemented by former Gov. Bill Haslam and Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman?
The state took over “low-performing” schools under the direction of a state-appointed superintendent.
And, the results were – not great.
Now, some in Pittsburgh are suggesting a state takeover of schools there. The appointment of a school board unaccountable to voters.
In the face of dissatisfaction with current elected officials, some in Pittsburgh are calling for a state takeover of the city’s public schools:
There is, therefore, only one choice: Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor must appeal to Gov. Josh Shapiro to support legislation placing the district’s finances under state supervision, and disbanding the elected board in favor of appointed experts.
The writer continues:
PPS is broken beyond repair. Only an outside force can transform it. Happily, there is a mechanism to apply such a force.
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Arizona and Voucher Danger
Runaway school vouchers lead to school closures.
In every state.
Every time.
The evidence out of Arizona is clear:
8 more community schools close: Our hearts break for the Kyrene and Scottsdale communities, as their school boards have voted to shutter neighborhood schools. Kyrene voted to close 6 schools, and Scottsdale Unified voted to shut down 2 schools at the end of this school year. These votes come after months of emotional community input and difficult conversations about budget constraints. This brings the total number of schools shut down since universal ESA voucher expansion to 28, with at least 4 more closures expected in Amphi.
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Bill Lee’s Hunger Game
Will Bill Lee make sure Tennessee kids get summer food assistance OR will he continue to be a lackey for Trump?
Easy: Lee chose Trump over kids. For the second year in a row.
Following last year’s “liberation” from federal assistance in feeding hungry kids during the summer, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will also forego funding for food assistance in 2026.
Tennessee Lookout reports on this year’s decision:
Despite the urging of county mayors, child advocates, clergy and educators, Gov. Bill Lee has declined to secure millions of dollars in federal funding to provide food to low-income kids by the government’s Jan. 1 deadline.
Lee joins a group of a dozen GOP governors who are refusing summer EBT benefits at the behest of Trump, who wants states to be less “dependent” on the federal government.
And, apparently, Lee is willing to score political points even if it means hundreds of thousands of kids face food insecurity.
Which, by the way, what kind of sick political game creates incentives for actively promoting childhood hunger?
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NO ICE IN SCHOOLS
Rep. Gabby Salinas of Memphis has filed a bill that would prevent ICE activities at Tennessee public schools.
The legislation, HB1482, provides protections, as summarized:
As introduced, prohibits the use of certain public properties, schools, and religious institutions for certain civil immigration enforcement activities; requires state departments and agencies to make available to the public certain information concerning person’s rights with regard to federal agents.
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Privatizing Just to Privatize
It turns out, all that “school choice” talk Gov. Bill Lee used to promote his signature policy issue – private school discount coupons – was just talk.
Kids aren’t leaving failing schools.
Kids aren’t performing better once they are in private schools.
It’s just state-sponsored privatization of a public good.
Most Tennessee public school students who use Education Savings Account vouchers aren’t leaving low-performing public schools, while ESA students overall are underperforming their public school peers in both academic achievement and growth.
Overall, students receiving ESA money performed worse on the state’s standardized tests than students in public schools, although ESA students outperformed their peers in Memphis-Shelby County schools last year. The comptroller’s report also notes that scores from students receiving ESAs have increased over time.
Meanwhile, virtual schools participating in the ESA program for the first time last year performed worse than both private schools with ESA students and local public schools. Just 20% of ESA students enrolled in virtual schools were proficient in English language arts, and just 17% were proficient in math.
And, the kids aren’t leaving behind schools that are “failing:”
“Most schools that students are leaving to participate in the ESA program are neither reward nor priority schools, which would indicate their performance is neither among the highest or lowest of public schools in the state,” the comptroller’s report states. “When considering schools that have received state and federal designations, more ESA students are leaving reward schools than priority schools.”
Read the Comptroller’s report on Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)
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We’ve Got the Plan, You’ve Got the Money
A tale out of Ohio highlights a frequent complaint in education: The unfunded mandate.
Lawmakers have the “best” idea – and if only districts would do it, everything would be great.
Funding? Districts don’t need money – just ideas. And mandates. Lots and lots of mandates.
This is the story of education a million times– some legislator gets a bright idea and declares “Let’s require schools to fix this” while waving vaguely in the direction of schools. And while this bright idea may require more resources and human-hours, that lawmaker will be confident that this whole new program can be implemented for free. Rick Hess has often said that you can force folks to do something, but you can’t force them to do it well. That is doubly true when you make zero effort to provide them with the resources needed to implement the program.
