Tennessee’s private school coupon scheme already has 20,000 takers. It will grow to 25,000 in 2026-27 unless the legislature intervenes to expand the program further.
And, that’s just what Gov. Bill Lee and House Speaker Cameron Sexton plan to do – with some suggesting a doubling of the program to 40,000 students next year.
A mechanism in the state law will allow lawmakers to easily expand the program for 5,000 new students since the state received more than 40,000 applications, well above the expansion threshold set by state law. But Gov. Bill Lee and other Republican lawmakers say they want to expand the program even further.
But it’s unlikely the number of new seats will be decided on by the time applications close on Jan. 30, just days into the 2026 legislative session.
NewsChannel9reports on the Chattanooga-area private schools getting taxpayer dollars from Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher scheme:
New data shows that just over 600 Hamilton County students are enrolled in private schools this school year through Tennessee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program, also known as school vouchers.
Here’s the list of Hamilton County students using Education Savings Accounts (ESA) for the 2025–26 school year:
Annoor Academy of Chattanooga – 47
Avondale SDA School – 29
Beacon Academy – 26
Belvoir Christian Academy – 42
Berean Academy – 31
Bethel Christian Academy – (number not listed)
Brainerd Baptist School – 20
Chattanooga Christian School – 95
Dolphin STEM Academy – (number not listed)
Enlightium Academy – 10
Grace Baptist Academy – 95
Hamilton Heights Christian Academy – (number not listed)
Hickory Valley Christian School – (number not listed)
Imagine Learning Excellence Academy – (number not listed)
They argue the program drains money from public schools at a time when districts are already cutting staff, trimming transportation and reworking special education services.
Boehm says the impact is already felt locally. She points to recent cuts in Hamilton County, including the elimination of magnet school transportation and staff reductions across multiple campuses.
Advocates say Gov. Lee’s voucher plan violates the state’s Constitution
Tennessee’s expanded, universal school voucher scheme violates a state requirement to maintain a system of free public schools, a new lawsuit says.
The Education Law Center, on behalf of a group of Tennessee parents, filed the suit in Davidson County Chancery Court.
“I taught for 12 years, and I fought to get my children into Rutherford County Schools because I knew the quality of education here,” said Jill Smiley, Rutherford County parent and former teacher. “Now the state is systematically defunding the very schools families like mine depend on. You can’t expect excellent schools on a shrinking budget.”
The suit cites the requirement in the Tennessee Constitution that the state establish and support a system of free public schools.
According to the plaintiffs:
The lawsuit argues the voucher law violates the Education Clause of the Tennessee Constitution in two ways:
The Education Clause’s adequacy requirement: By diverting public funds away from already underfunded public schools, the law prevents Tennessee from providing students with the adequate education guaranteed by the state constitution.
The Education Clause’s mandate of a single system of public schools: By funding schools outside the system of free public schools, the voucher law violates this Education Clause mandate.
Estimates by state analysts suggest the program will cost more than $140 million this year alone and may cost over $1 billion a year within 5 years.
Lee, who’s out of state this week on an economic trip to Asia, has thus far declined to tap state resources to help mitigate the loss of more than $145 million in monthly food aid intended for the state’s poorest residents – among them more than 300,000 children living in poverty.
The Tennessee Justice Center explains the challenges faced by the loss of SNAP:
On November 1, over 700,000 Tennesseans will face the unthinkable loss of access to the food they depend on through SNAP.
For the first time in history, we are up against an unnatural disaster. Families across Tennessee will be forced to make impossible choices about meals, bills, and basic needs as food support disappears.
Lee has directed state resources to launch a website that provides information on where Tennesseans can find food assistance – though the Governor is not directing additional state funds to help provide this assistance.
Lee announced that the FeedTN.org platform will connect Tennesseans with resources and opportunities to serve.
“Instead of serving 700,000 Tennessee children through Summer EBT, TDHS’s program will reach a max of 25,000 children. Despite spending nearly as much as it would take to serve the entire state, the Tennessee program will reach less than 4% of the children that received Summer EBT in 2024.”
Lee rejected $75 million in federal funds that would have supported a program to add funds to EBT cards for families whose kids receive free/reduced lunch during the school year.
Lee, Sexton want to expand state’s private school coupon scheme
Tennessee’s school voucher program is already taking a $144 million chunk out of the state budget. When fully implemented, the cost is expected to exceed $1 billion annually.
Vouchers are expensive – and undermine local public schools. Research consistently suggests vouchers do not improve student outcomes – and, sometimes, actually lead to a decline.
Expensive. Hurting local communities. Failing to help students.
That’s the program Gov. Lee wants to expand. And House Speaker Cameron Sexton is cheering him on, calling for at least a doubling of the voucher scheme in the upcoming legislative session.
The governor added that because of the large number of applications, he hopes to persuade the legislature to “provide more scholarships to Tennessee families” when lawmakers return for the 2026 session.
Lee, whose term runs out in January 2027, wasn’t specific about how much he would like to see the program expand. But Sexton’s spokesperson, Connor Grady, said the speaker is committed to “at least doubling” the number of available vouchers to meet student demand, Chalkbeat reported.
One reason Tennessee’s privatizer-in-chief (Bill Lee) suggests the state needs school vouchers is his belief that public schools aren’t always up to the task.
However, the most recent statewide testing data suggests otherwise, noting continuous improvement in scores post-pandemic.
Tennessee students continued to show post-pandemic progress on statewide testing this year, though a majority of third graders fell short of hitting a critical reading benchmark.
More third graders scored proficient this year, with 41.7% compared to 40.9% on last year’s reading test, according to testing data released Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Education.
The article notes an upward trend and cites the current Education Commissioner as among those praising the work of the state’s public schools:
“We are encouraged to see improvements across all subject areas. This year’s TCAP results reflect Tennessee’s strong commitment to investing in our students’ futures and the steady progress we’re making statewide,” education commissioner Lizzette Reynolds said in a statement. “We are grateful to our teachers, schools, and districts whose unwavering dedication has driven significant improvements in student performance and paved the way for lasting success.”
The program is inexpensive and it works, so naturally, Tennessee policymakers don’t want to participate.
I suspect many of them spent this Sunday in church, singing praises to a Jesus whose teachings they willfully ignore.
More maddening? The Tennessee voters who show up continue to elect “leaders” like Lee simply because these politicians align with their chosen King, Donald Trump.
Here’s more on Sun Bucks and the 675,000 children who suffered this summer so Bill Lee could prove a point:
Sun Bucks is a pragmatic and powerful innovation. After fifty years of relying primarily on congregate meal service, pandemic-era pilots proved that grocery benefits are a high-impact complement. By institutionalizing that lesson, Sun Bucks delivers $120 per child to bridge the summer nutrition gap while preserving meal sites where they are effective. And beyond reducing hardship, the program’s $3.5 billion in benefits may generate over $5 billion in local economic activity each summer, supporting families, businesses, farmers, and communities alike. States that decline to participate are not just forgoing a proven strategy to reduce child hunger—they are turning down fully funded federal benefits that could strengthen their own local economies.
Yep. That’s Bill Lee. “turning down fully-funded federal benefits that could strengthen” Tennessee’s economy.
One Tennessee school district is leaving free money for teacher pay on the table. The Grundy County School Board has decided not to accept the state’s $2000 bonus for teachers that was provided as part of the universal school voucher bill that passed this year.
