Lawmakers on the Joint Government Operations Committee met Monday to review administration rules for the newly launched Education Freedom Scholarship program and to ask questions about some of the challenges that appeared during its launch.

Governor Bill Lee signed the legislation creating the program in February, allowing up to 20 thousand families to use $7,295 in taxpayer dollars to pay for private school expenses.

Both polls asked voters for their support of key education policies that have been backed this year by Republican leaders, including President Trump and Governor Bill Lee.

The Tennessee Department of Education plans to launch the application portal at 10 P.M. CT according to a news release sent to the Tennessee Firefly.

Senator Todd Gardenhire’s, R-Chattanooga, legislation would expand the Education Savings Account (ESA) pilot program implemented in 2022 to include students in Montgomery, Knox, and Rutherford Counties.

That list includes more than three dozen schools in Shelby County and more than two dozen in Davidson.

The more than $400 million dollar piece of legislation, frequently referred to by opponents as “school vouchers,” will allow up to 20 thousand children across the state to use taxpayer dollars for private school expenses.

The Tennessee State House voted 53 to 45 Thursday afternoon to approve Governor Bill Lee’s plan to let families use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school.

The legislation comfortably advanced out of the House and Senate Education Committees Tuesday with just two Republicans, joining all Democrats voting against it.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, named former teacher, Senator Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro, as chair the Senate Education Committee that’s expected to play a big role in the legislative session and upcoming special session.

After weeks of speculation, Governor Bill Lee officially announced his decision Wednesday morning to call for a special session on January 27 to address his Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 (frequently called vouchers), Hurricane Helene relief for East Tennessee, and illegal immigration.

State Senators re-elected Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R- Oak Ridge, as Speaker with a 26 to 0 vote and Representative Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, to serve as House Speaker with 75 votes to Democrat nominee Representative Karen Camper’s, D-Memphis, 23 votes.

Tennessee legislators have filed several bills this year that aim to tackle longstanding challenges in education, such as expanding school choice, enhancing student safety, and curbing distractions from cell phones.

Testing didn’t receive a lot of headlines during the debate earlier this year over Governor Bill Lee’s plan to let families use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school, but it played an important role in why the legislation failed. Members of the State House and Senate advanced different versions of the Governor’s Education Freedom Scholarship, sometimes called vouchers, and couldn’t come to a compromise on those differences. One of the biggest involved a provision in the House version of the legislation that would reduce the number of tests students in public school are required to take.

The Governor’s new voucher plan unveiled Wednesday includes no reduction in testing and additionally requires participants in grades 3 through 11 to either take a nationally standardized achievement test or The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program.

Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly attracted headlines when members held multiple hearings on the possibility of rejecting up to a billion dollars in federal education funding. Lawmakers ultimately didn’t go forward with that idea, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead. Republican House District 27 candidate Michele Reneau said in a recent interview that she’s open to the possibility of rejecting federal education dollars.

Despite criticizing Gov. Bill Lee’s plan previously as “terrible,” Representative Scott Cepicky’s, R-Culleoka, expects lawmakers to iron out their differences about school choice legislation next year.

The Williamson County Schools Board of Education voted Monday to rescind a resolution from March that voiced the board’s opposition to Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act.

When Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled the details of the $100 million Helene Emergency Assistance Loans (HEAL) Program in a press conference Thursday afternoon, a reporter asked whether he might be willing to dip into the unused funding for his vouchers program. The Governor did not seem interested despite $144 million in voucher funding sitting unused.

Rep. Scott Cepicky calls Governor Lee’s voucher bill “terrible” despite receiving his endorsement in next month’s primary.

Tuesday Governor Bill Lee took his ongoing push for universal school choice to the biggest stage yet.