Category Archives: Bill Lee

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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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Be Alarmed About AI in Schools

Bill Lee Once Signed a Pro-DEI Bill

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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.

More from Chalkbeat:

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)

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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The Familiar Tale of Unfunded Mandates

Back in 2019, TN Republicans Passed a Pro-DEI Law

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Will Bill Lee Do The Right Thing in 2026?

It’s never too late to start

Gov. Bill Lee refused federal funds in 2025 to help provide food assistance to families during the summer – allowing extra SNAP funds for those who qualify for free/reduced lunch.

Yes, all school meals should be free for every kid every day.

But for now, free meals are limited to those who fill out forms and qualify based on income.

Lee has an opportunity to accept federal funds for 2026 -and the deadline for that decision is fast-approaching (It’s January 1st).

Groups are asking Lee to take action – County Mayors, pastors, and more are calling on Lee to accept the funds that help some 700,000 kids access food assistance in the summer.

Below is a statement from the Tennessee High School Democrats:

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Federal School Vouchers Pose a Threat to Public Schools

Where Did 30,000 Students Go?

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A Christmas Letter for Gov. Bill Lee

What Tennessee kids want for Christmas is Summer EBT funding

Gov. Bill Lee took Tennessee out of the Sun Bucks program in 2025.

Sun Bucks is a Summer EBT program through SNAP that provides extra funds ($120) to help bridge the summer gap while kids are not getting meals at school.

Now, Lee must once again decide what to do about Sun Bucks – will he take the money in 2026 and feed as many as 700,000 kids? Or, will he return to his failed 2025 model that only helped a few thousand?

From pastors to County Mayors, people around the state are asking: Will Bill Lee do the right thing?

We respectfully write to you to implore you to take immediate action to address the nutrition needs of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children. We write not merely as constituents, but as people of faith. We recognize and appreciate your public commitment to leading our state with a heart for the “least of these,” and it is in this spirit of shared moral responsibility that we—314 faith leaders from across the state—petition you to intervene for the 700,000 children in Tennessee whose health and future depend on a decision that must be made before January 1.

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Trump and Allies Work to End Public Education

In 2019, Jack Johnson and Bill Lee Supported DEI

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Moving Toward the End of Public Education

The Trump Education Agenda is clear: End public schools.

Education Department officials are openly calling for plans to move a majority of kids to private schools (by way of vouchers, for example) within just 5 years.

One official even suggested that the ideal number of kids in traditional public schools would be “zero.”

For all the talk of the benefits of “school choice,” the reality is more stark: Choicers simply mean they want ZERO government responsibility for education, other than handing taxpayer cash to private school operators.

Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Lee is no exception, as he and his allies work to rapidly increase the state’s new, universal school voucher scheme.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Will Bill Lee Feed Hungry Kids in 2026?

Jack Johnson, Bill Dunn, and DEI

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A Plea for Bill Lee

Will Gov. Bill Lee do the right thing in the last year of his term? Will he accept federal assistance for Sun Bucks – a summer EBT program that provides help for families with kids who receive free or reduced lunch?

Probably not.

But, local elected officials are asking him to.

33 County Mayors are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to participate in the federal Sun Bucks program in 2026.

The local leaders penned a letter to Lee asking him not to forego the summer program that provides additional EBT funds for families during the summer. The program is designed to provide additional assistance during a time when kids are unable to get free or reduced-cost meals at school.

Lee refused to participate in Sun Bucks last summer – and left hundreds of thousands of kids without the food assistance their families need.

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Jack Johnson and Bill Lee Used to Support DEI

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State-Sponsored Extremism

Gov. Bill Lee, Sen. Jack Johnson, and U.S. Senator and gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn joined together to announce they are backing a “partnership” between the state and Turning Point USA to help the extremist right-wing group indoctrinate kids at high schools across the state.

More from Tennessee Lookout:

Tennessee state leaders announced Friday morning that the state will partner with Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Those state officials announced at an event at the Tennessee State Capitol that there would be Club America chapters, student-led organizations affiliated with Turning Point USA, at every high school in the state.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who is running for Tennessee governor, and state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, spoke at the event announcing the partnership. No media was invited, but a 30-minute video was posted on Rumble, a social media platform that’s particularly popular with right-wing creators.

It’s not clear how the state will facilitate Club America chapters – if there will be a mandate from the Department of Education, how state funds may be used to pay for the expansion of the group’s clubs, or if other groups may be able to obtain the same type of explicit state support.

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Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

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Donald’s Dangerous Private School Coupons

Back in 2019, Jack Johnson was All-In on DEI

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How Big Will TN’s Voucher Program Get in 2026?

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.

Chalkbeat reports:

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.

At least one issue advocacy group is calling for the state to rapidly expand the voucher program and other school privatization efforts – calling for 200,000 students to be using vouchers by 2031.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Player Piano Comes to Life

Trump: Keeping Kids Hungry

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Chattanooga Private Schools Reap Voucher Rewards

NewsChannel9 reports 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)
  • Notre Dame High School – 81
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help School – 49
  • Silverdale Baptist Academy – 23
  • Skyuka Hall School – 15St. Jude School – 16
  • St. Nicholas School – (number not listed)
  • The Montessori School – (number not listed)
Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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