The House K-12 Subcommittee advanced the plan on a 5-3 vote on Tuesday morning.

Grundy County teachers were the only educators in the state who didn’t receive a $2,300 bonus.

Governor Lee is proposing $339 million in new K-12 spending.

The House K-12 subcommittee voted the legislation down on a 2-5 party-line vote Tuesday morning.

Lee said demand warrants the investment in what’s expected to be a tighter budget year to expand the number of scholarships to 40,000.

According to a news release, the Tennessee Department of Education has received more than 50,304 new and renewal applications for the program that allows families to use taxpayer dollars for private school expenses.

Lawmakers are expected to debate multiple issues that played a prominent role in last year’s legislative session, including state intervention into Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

More than 60 percent of respondents said they support expanding the Education Freedom Scholarship and adopting policies that allow parents to send their children to public schools across district or county lines without paying tuition.

Parents named in the suit argue the program violates the Education Clause of the Tennessee Constitution by diverting funds from public schools and preventing students the adequate education guaranteed by the state constitution.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds reported that roughly 90,000 students have been participating in the camps each summer, and 73 percent of those students attended at least 90 percent of the programming.

On Monday, a panel hosted by the League of Women Voters of Murfreesboro‑Rutherford County brought together education leaders from private, charter, and traditional public schools to debate the emerging landscape of school choice in Tennessee.

Tennessee gubernatorial candidate and state lawmaker Monty Fritts was the only legislator to oppose continuing the Tennessee Department of Education during this week’s sunset hearings at the State Capitol.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon named White as the chair of the National Assessment Governing Board that oversees the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), frequently called the Nation’s Report Card.

The U.S. Senator utilized her appearance at Nashville Collegiate Prep’s high school grand opening to promote her support for removing barriers that organizations face when starting new public charter schools.

In a video posted on his campaign website, Fritts attempted to distance himself from fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Congressman John Rose and Senator Marsha Blackburn by pledging to oppose what he calls the “Nashville establishment.” 

In an interview with the Tennessee Firefly’s On the Fly podcast, Rose said he’d be open to tweaks to assessments and evaluations, but believes the state should “keep on keeping on” with both systems that polling has shown Republican voters support.

The program, frequently referred to as vouchers, is providing 20 thousand children with tax dollars to pay for private school expenses, and Blackburn says it will be a key part of her education policy if she’s elected governor next year.

By offering a 100 percent dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donations to private school scholarship organizations, the bill would allow individuals to redirect their tax dollars to educational causes, potentially reshaping Tennessee’s K–12 landscape.

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.