LIVE: Tennessee General Assembly votes on school vouchers

Yahoo

30-01-2025

11:54 EST: Three Gloria Johnson amendments tabled
Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) brought forth three amendments she said would create more accountability for private schools that take vouchers, largely relating to student testing. All three amendments were tabled along largely party-line votes.
Amendment allowing undocumented students to access vouchers fails
11:30 EST: Rep. Gabby Salinas's (D-Memphis) amendment 14 called for removing a provision that would prevent undocumented students from using vouchers. Johnny Garrett's motion to table is approved 74-25 after Salinas refers to the Pleier v Doe position, which prevents public schools from discriminating against or denying education to undocumented children.
11:15 EST: Rep. Yusuf Hakeem (D-Chattanooga) calls for an annual audit of private schools that accept vouchers to try and prevent what he says has been a problem in other statewide voucher states — for-profit schools that 'pop up' to take advantage of the new opportunity. Hakeem called it an additional accountability measure. Rep. Jeremy Faison's (R-Cosby) motion to table, saying parents are the primary means of accountability because of their ability to choose their child's school. The amendment was tabled.
11:11 EST: Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville) offers an amendment (Amendment 8) that school systems receive inflation-adjusted 'hold harmless' payments if they have loss of enrollment. As with previous Democrat-generated amendments, this one was tabled on a largely party line vote.
After the bill's sponsor, Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) brought the bill to the House floor, discussion was opened.
Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) was the first to be recognized amid discussion of the bill and called it a 'scam' multiple times and referenced previous times the vouchers had been considered in Tennessee. He argued that the bill ought to stand on its merit alone instead of rebranding it.
Mitchell had proposed an amendment that aimed to change the verbiage of the bill and retitle it the 'Governor Bill Lee Private School Voucher Bribery Scam Subsidy Act.' Mitchell failed to get the necessary votes to pass the amendment.
Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) also spoke on behalf of an amendment he had proposed to the bill in relation to Tennessee Lottery funds. Lamberth responded and moved to table the amendment, which was passed by the majority.
Hemmer then spoke to another amendment he filed that he said called to attention the hypocrisy of the bill, but he withdrew it.
Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) began the discussion of his amendment by reflecting on the recent fatal school shooting in his district at Antioch High School. He said after the shooting, he wrote to Governor Bill Lee and asked him to expand the special session to address school shootings and how they could be prevented.
Powell said little action was taken after Lee called a special session after the Covenant School shooting.
'And here we are yet again facing another school shooting in our community,' Powell said.
Powell said several of his constituents had expressed their opposition to school vouchers, which he mirrors. However, Powell said the feelings he and his district have toward vouchers is eclipsed by the horror students have experienced returning to the place where a shooting occurred. As a result, Powell said he has filed an amendment to allocate funds that would allow the portion of a school where a shooting occurred to be torn down and rebuilt differently to spare students the pain of returning to it.
Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) responded to Powell and said that while he recognizes the difficulty students at Antioch face, he did not see the relevance of the amendment and moved to table it.
That move drew a loud and emotional reaction from Powell who insisted that the time to address gun violence and help children was now.
'We can do this right now on behalf of Antioch High School,' Powell said.
The motion to table Powell's amendment passed.
Before Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) began the discussion of his amendment, House Speaker Cameron Sexton warned people in the gallery to remain quiet and not interrupt the proceedings.
Clemmons' amendment sought to make a provisional $2,000 bonus for teachers that is part of the voucher bill as part of their base salary instead.
Garrett again responded and said while he hopes the bonus does eventually become part of the salary, he asked to table Clemmons' amendment. Clemmons argued that that seems hollow as the bonus is conditional on the passage of the vouchers.
Clemmons' amendment was also tabled.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Tennessee lawmakers are deciding the fate of Governor Bill Lee's Education Freedom Act on Thursday.
The act, commonly referred to as school vouchers, would provide families with publicly-funded scholarships that could be put toward tuition at a private school or any other school of parents' choice.
The Tennessee House of Representatives will take up the bill, HB6004, first at 10:30 a.m. ET. If the bill passes the House, it must then clear the Tennessee Senate, which convenes at noon.
The school voucher bill is the first item on the agenda for the House and the second of only two items on the Senate's agenda.
Establishing the voucher program was a primary reason Lee called the ongoing special session, in addition to passing Hurricane Helene relief for East Tennessee and passing legislation related to immigration.
The Education Freedom Act has drawn heavy criticism from public school boards and superintendents, and Northeast Tennessee lawmakers found themselves split on their opinions of the bill before heading to Nashville.
Lee attempted to push the voucher program through last year, but it failed to pass the legislative bodies at the time.
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