Governor Lee pushes education vouchers in final State of the State address

Описание: Governor Bill Lee delivered his eighth and final State of the State address at the Tennessee Capitol on Monday, reflecting on his past seven years in office while laying out his final legislative priorities.

While the governor touched on economic growth and investments aimed at building the next generation of clean energy nuclear reactors, education was the central focus of his speech.

Lee praised the state’s Education Freedom Scholarship program and called for a major expansion, proposing to double the number of families eligible for the school voucher initiative. His budget would fund an additional 20,000 scholarships, allowing more students to use state dollars to attend private schools.

“Growing the program would open the door of opportunity for thousands more children statewide,” Lee said.
The proposed expansion would cost taxpayers approximately $300 million a significant increase during a tight budget year and a point of sharp disagreement among lawmakers.

Supporters argue the plan balances investments in both private and public education. Republican State Rep. William Slater noted the budget also includes additional funding for public schools.

“We’re doing an additional $339 million for public education, which is twice as much as what we’re allocating for new freedom scholarships,” Slater said.
Democrats, however, remain critical of the voucher program, questioning whether it truly benefits low-income families. House Minority Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville said the funding would be better spent strengthening public schools across the state.

“We have no idea if these vouchers are even benefiting students,” Clemmons said. “All we’re doing is throwing a billion dollars into the wind for wealthy families to send children to private school.”

Outside the House chamber, protesters chanting against the state’s immigration crackdown could be heard during the governor’s address.

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