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.
A Tennessee Republican who stood up for public education in the state legislature paid the price, as a conservative political action group backing Matt Van Epps attacked him with millions of dollars in advertising.
Barrett was attacked because he voted against Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Act – also called vouchers.
State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) ran for the open congressional seat in Tennessee’s recent special election, but he finished second to Matt Van Epps in the Republican primary.
After the primary, the head of the conservative PAC, Club for Growth, took credit for Barrett’s loss and called it a warning to other candidates.
After the primary, the head of Club for Growth wrote, “I made it clear that any republican lawmaker who failed to support Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Act … should expect to lose an expensive primary funded by Club for Growth.”
Lee’s so-called “Education Freedom Act” essentially provides discount coupons to private schools for use by wealthy families.
On a related note, a new dark money group with ties to the state’s top Republicans has formed and announced plans to push for a rapid expansion of the voucher scheme – costing the state billions and taking nearly 500,000 students out of public schools.
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.
Tennessee Leads appears to have been launched with the help of a group of political finance consultants tied to top GOP leaders in the state.
The address and Registered Agent of the group match that of Political Financial Management, a group that has helped the Tennessee Republican Caucus and Gov. Bill Lee.
The group says it is advocating to have 200,000 students using school vouchers and 250,000 students in charter schools by 2031.
While state leaders consider expanding the state’s private school coupon program, a new nonprofit takes a bolder approach. A group calling itself Tennessee Leadsregistered with the Secretary of State as a 501(c)(4) issue advocacy organization with the goal of effectively ending public education in Tennessee by 2031.
The group’s goals: 200,000 voucher students (at a cost of more than $1.5 billion/year), 250,000 charter school students (there are 45,000 now), and the implementation of Direct Instruction.
It’s like every bad idea in education got together and formed a band.
So far, though, it’s not clear who the members are. Stay tuned . . .
TC Weber notes that a new nonprofit wants to essentially end public education in the Volunteer State.
But a new nonprofit, Tennessee Leads, has even bigger ambitions: 200,000 voucher students and 250,000 in charter schools by 2031.
If those goals are met, traditional public schools would serve just 550,000 students—a seismic shift.
Gov. Lee and Speaker Sexton want to double the number of voucher students in 2026 – from 20,000 to 40,000 – with a total of 100,000 by 2030. But, Tennessee Leads is pushing for more than that.
The result of meeting this goal would be a rise in unaccountable private education sources – and an end to traditional public education in our state.
State Rep. Monty Fritts of Kingston told the Lookout this week he considers the governor’s new program unconstitutional and would try to block expansion on those grounds.
The state Constitution says the General Assembly “shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards for a system of free public schools,” according to Fritts. It doesn’t mention private schools, but he interprets that as a “specific and restrictive statement” that doesn’t permit spending public money to send kids to private schools.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and U.S. Rep. John Rose have said in various public comments they support vouchers. Blackburn is considered the favorite in the primary election that will take place in August 2026.
Gov. Bill Lee and House Speaker Cameron Sexton have proposed doubling the program – one that already costs the state more than $140 million this year.
A story out of Florida should give pause to those who think public money should just “follow the child” to whatever school or education experiment is out there:
The rapid expansion of the state’s School Choice scholarship program burrowed a $47 million hole in the Florida Department of Education’s budget and left public and private schools complaining they aren’t getting properly paid.
Money problems that arose during the 2024-2025 school year can largely be attributed to the mobility that students enjoy to shift from public to private or to home education freely, said Adam Emerson, director of the Department of Education Office of School Choice.
In short: Both public and private schools aren’t being paid in a timely fashion for the students in their care.
Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” included a federal school voucher scheme. Not only will it cost taxpayers billions, but it will also be harmful to states.
The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) released a brief explaining the potential impact of these vouchers.
In a summary explainer, NEPC notes:
NEPC director and University of Colorado Boulder professor emeritus Kevin Welner cautions governors that the promised state flexibility under the new federal “scholarship” program is unlikely to materialize, leaving states vulnerable to federal overreach and harmful voucher expansion.
Ultimately, unless states are guaranteed full flexibility to protect their students and taxpayers, opting in would mean ceding state authority to Washington and exposing students to the well-documented harms of today’s voucher programs.
