TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Feb 22, 2024

Gov. Bill Lee and state Senate leadership this week announced differing proposals to introduce universal school vouchers to Tennessee. The key difference in the two plans is testing accountability. Chalkbeat reports that the governor's plan does not require participating students to take annual tests to measure whether the Education Freedom Scholarship Act leads to better academic outcomes. The Senate’s proposal requires recipients in grades three to 11 to take some type of norm-referenced tests approved by the state Board of Education. It also favors open enrollment across school systems. The House has released a third version, which would allow well-performing public schools to see more flexibility on student testing requirements, while the state would take on more costs to pay public school teachers and staffers’ health-insurance benefits, reports the Tennessee Journal.