Speaking at a town hall event in Jonesborough, Tennessee last week, Green said her priorities would be to expand Medicaid, repeal Tennessee’s grocery tax, and end the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Act that allows families to use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school.

Last school year, 3,693 students in Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga received assistance for private school expenses through the Education Savings Account (ESA), frequently referred to as school vouchers.

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.

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.

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

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 House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, opened the first day of the special session on Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 by replacing half of the members serving on the influential House Education Committee.

One major difference between Governor Bill Lee’s proposal this year  to let families use public dollars to send their children to private school, sometimes referred to as school vouchers, and last year’s plan that failed, is a provision designed to ease fears about potential lost revenue for school districts.

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.

It’s believed Governor Lee will call for a special session on his Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 in late January, following the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee wasted no time applauding President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of a former professional wrestling mogul to serve as the United States Secretary of Education.

There have been some mixed reactions to Tennessee lawmakers’ efforts to reintroduce school choice legislation for vouchers that allow public tax dollars to be used for private school enrollment.

Voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska have decisively rejected efforts to implement school voucher programs that would allow families to use tax dollars for private school enrollment.