House Democrats Fail to Require the Release of Additional Education Freedom Scholarship Data
Stock photo of a family. (Photo by Tennessee Department of Education)
An effort by Democratic lawmakers to gather more information about students participating in the Education Freedom Scholarship program failed in the House K-12 subcommittee on a 2-5 party-line vote Tuesday morning.
The program, often referred to as vouchers by opponents, allows parents to use taxpayer dollars for private school expenses. House Bill 1052, sponsored by Representative Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, would have prompted the Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) in the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury to report the number of recipients for the program, the number of recipients who participated for two or more school years, the number of recipients who were enrolled in a public school in Tennessee for the immediately preceding school year, and the number of recipients who were eligible to enroll in a public kindergarten through grade 12 school in the state for the immediately preceding year.
McKenzie told subcommittee members that his bill would provide transparency into the program and inform decisions, noting that it was similar to the Third-Grade Retention Law, which was previously modified based on data collected. Following the vote, McKenzie posted a video on social media expressing why he believes that transparency is needed.
“I made a simple request, basically saying, ‘Who’s getting the vouchers? Where are the vouchers going? What was the impact on our public schools and our private schools?” said McKenzie.
McKenzie went on to say the bill was turned down along party lines because “They don’t want you to know that the rich and almost rich are the ones getting these vouchers.”
Republicans Oppose Legislation
Every Republican on the subcommittee opposed the legislation, except Representative Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville, who abstained.
Representative William Slater, R-Gallatin, was among those voting against the bill. Slater expressed concern about requiring the Department of Education to engage in additional data collection.
“I think this would be a new requirement, and for that reason, I’m going to have to oppose this new legislation,” said Slater.
McKenzie pushed back, asserting his belief that the data is available and just needs to be harvested correctly.
Expansion Remains on the Table
A press release from the Tennessee Department of Education stated that it received more than 56,000 applications for the program by Friday’s deadline. That’s up from the 40,000 received last year.
The program currently has a cap of 20,000 participants, and Governor Bill Lee has argued demand warrants expansion. He’s proposing spending $155 million to double the number of scholarships available.
