Category Archives: Bill Lee

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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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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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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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Voucher Gators Eat Florida Budget

Private School Coupons Under Fire

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Chattanooga Mom Takes on Lee’s School Voucher Scheme

NewsChannel9 in Chattanooga reports that a local mom is part of a group of Tennessee parents challenging Gov. Bill Lee’s private school discount coupon scheme.

Crystal Boehm, who has children in Hamilton County Schools, is one of several parents suing the state.

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.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Tearing Down the Department of Education

Welcome to the School with No Teachers

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Lawsuit Challenges Tennessee’s School Voucher Scheme

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.

Additionally, an issue advocacy group calling itself Tennessee Leads says it will fight to expand the school voucher program as well as the state’s charter schools so that as many as 450,000 students are removed from the state’s public school system by 2031.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Gov. Lee Takes On Hunger by Refusing to Feed Hungry People

While Tennessee faith leaders are encouraging Gov. Lee to fill the gap left by Donald Trump’s refusal to fully fund SNAP during the government shutdown, Lee is taking a firm stance: Hungry people can just stay hungry.

Trump is now defying two court orders to release emergency funds to provide benefits to SNAP recipients in November.

States like Kentucky are stepping up – using state money to bridge the gap.

Lee is standing down – refusing to do what is totally possible. Just because he doesn’t want to.

Just like he did when he refused the summer EBT program designed to help give kids food during the summer when school meals aren’t available.

The message from Lee is clear – and it’s not even “let them eat cake” – it’s “no food for you.”

orange carrots on table
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