Tenn. personal college voucher regulation may increase to Hamilton County

Tennessee’s personal college voucher regulation, which now solely impacts districts and a few college students in Memphis and Nashville, would widen to incorporate Hamilton County Colleges beneath new laws filed this week.

Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican, needs the legislature to increase the eligibility standards for the schooling financial savings account program to incorporate college students in districts with at the least 5 of the state’s lowest-performing faculties, as recognized within the final three “precedence college” cycles since 2015.

Below these standards, Hamilton County Colleges, which is predicated in Chattanooga, would qualify — however not districts in different counties with precedence faculties akin to Knox or Madison.

The proposal would mark the primary enlargement of this system that launched this fall beneath the controversial 2019 voucher regulation. The regulation, which was signed by Gov. Invoice Lee, handed Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature after a decade-long tug-of-war between those that wish to use taxpayer cash to offer dad and mom extra schooling selections and others who say that method diverts cash from already underfunded public faculties.

When the preliminary voucher invoice was being debated, Gardenhire was amongst lawmakers in Chattanooga and Knoxville who sought to exclude their counties from the regulation’s attain. However Gardenhire says the circumstances have modified, and he now helps together with his house district.

He famous that Hamilton County Colleges now has extra precedence faculties than in 2019, when the district was within the midst of a $20 million college enchancment plan often called Partnership Community. That initiative has since been disbanded.

“We’ll know in just a few years if the ESA program works. However we all know what we’re doing now in Hamilton County just isn’t working. It’s a complete catastrophe,” Gardenhire advised Chalkbeat on Thursday.

Gardenhire mentioned he additionally was involved initially that courts would overturn the brand new schooling financial savings account regulation, however the Tennessee Supreme Courtroom upheld it on attraction this spring. (Plaintiffs that embody native governments in Davidson and Shelby counties are nonetheless contemplating whether or not to attraction one other court docket’s current ruling dismissing the rest of their claims.)

“With the appeals adjudicated, it’s time to place Hamilton County Colleges beneath the ESA Act,” Gardenhire mentioned.

Democrats, who voted unanimously in opposition to the voucher regulation, have been fast to criticize the invoice.

“Public college tax {dollars} belong in our public faculties,” mentioned Sen. Raumesh Akbari, of Memphis. “We opposed personal college vouchers for Nashville and Memphis, and we oppose any enlargement of a disproven method that hasn’t labored wherever it’s been tried.”

Akbari mentioned Tennessee ought to as an alternative make investments its time and sources in methods which have a confirmed report of boosting scholar achievement, like smaller class sizes and wraparound scholar help. 

The regulation refers to schooling financial savings accounts as a “pilot program” and directs the state comptroller to report on this system’s efficacy after its third yr of enrolling college students. However as a result of ongoing litigation delayed this system’s launch, the primary report isn’t due till Jan. 1, 2026.

Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, a Chattanooga Democrat, mentioned Tennessee mustn’t increase this system so quickly after rolling it out.

“Good coverage means finding out one thing for a number of years earlier than you begin attempting to alter it,” Hakeem mentioned. “We don’t also have a yr of information but to trace.”

Gardenhire mentioned he has a co-sponsor lined up within the Home however declined to determine that legislator. 

Two key GOP legislative leaders have signed on as co-sponsors within the Senate: Bo Watson, of Hixson, who chaired his chamber’s finance committee within the current legislative session; and Sen. Jon Lundsberg, of Bristol, who chaired the schooling committee.

Tennessee is amongst greater than 20 states which have both began or expanded voucher-type packages within the final two years.

Analysis on the effectiveness of vouchers is combined. Latest research have discovered that switching to personal schooling utilizing a voucher tends to not assist — and will even hurt — college students’ take a look at scores, particularly in math. Different research, although, have discovered impartial or optimistic results of vouchers on highschool commencement and school attendance. 

You’ll be able to observe the invoice’s progress right here.

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.