TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Feb 16, 2023

Legislation that would allow the state’s school voucher program to expand beyond Davidson and Shelby counties passed the Tennessee Senate last week, the Tennessean reports. Sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, SB12/HB433 expands the program to include school districts that have five schools identified in the bottom 10% of schools in the state. The law currently includes districts with 10 schools in the bottom 10%. Gardenhire said today he wanted to exclude Hamilton County from the program in 2019, but the county now has eight "failing" schools. "I want to give the parents and the students the opportunity to have a choice and not be trapped in failing schools," Gardenhire said.