The debate over whether to use tax dollars to send children to private schools has reared its head.

Students would be eligible for vouchers if their district doesn’t offer 180 days of in-person class under a proposal that cleared a General Assembly committee last week.

The Senate Education Committee advanced the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) and state Rep. Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), Wednesday, Jan. 19, by a 6-2 vote.

State Sens. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) and Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) voted against it, while state Sen. Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) abstained.

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It would expand eligibility for Gov. Bill Lee’s signature “education savings account” law, which would only apply in Shelby County and Nashville and faces arguments before the Tennessee Supreme Court next month.

“We’re doing this because we know that in-person learning is the best way to educate a child,” Bell said. “We know that there were a couple districts, may have been three, that for whatever reason just decided not to fulfill the purpose for which they were created to do, and that’s to educate our children.”

As Bell spoke, at least 35 public schools across the state had at least one classroom or grade level offering virtual classes because too many staff members had to quarantine due to COVID. In the same week, four entire school districts were granted five-day virtual learning waivers. 

The bill also applies to students in the Achievement School District and specifies that schools can offer fewer than 180 days of in-person class if COVID isn’t the reason. The original version of the bill also extended eligibility to students in schools with mask mandates.

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While the bill ostensibly targets COVID mitigation policies, students could use vouchers to transfer to a private school with similar policies. Once students become eligible because of their districts’ policies, they wouldn’t lose eligibility; they could transfer years after their school resumed full in-person learning.

Asked after the hearing why students would remain eligible indefinitely, Bell said, “that’s just the way it’s written.”

Bell acknowledged that the state could be sued over the bill, but he also said the mask section was removed due to pending litigation.

On the House side, the bill was assigned to the Education Instruction subcommittee, but it has not had a hearing.

“The language as it’s written now I don’t think is acceptable,” Akbari told WPLN Thursday, Jan. 20.

All public schools expected to meet requirement

If it becomes law, it still may not have a big impact, given that it would take effect two and a half years after the beginning of the pandemic, and because some experts expect COVID to wane as more people get vaccinated and develop natural immunity.

The General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee expected the bill wouldn’t have a substantial financial impact — a fact Bell noted in a conversation with reporters.

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But that’s because the Fiscal Review Committee expects every district to meet for the required 180 days.

“Therefore, the eligibility criteria related to instructional days will not apply to any schools,” a fiscal memorandum signed by Fiscal Review Committee Executive Director Krista Lee Carsner stated.

Caught up in court

Education savings accounts were a top priority for Lee in 2019, but the issue faced opposition from the start.

In a closely divided General Assembly, the bill only passed narrowly. According to several media reports, state Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Farragut) provided the deciding vote — on the condition that the law not apply to Knox County Schools.

In the end, it only applied to Shelby County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools and the Achievement School District. All schools in the ASD are in either Memphis or Nashville. SCS and MNPS sued in February 2020, and a Davidson County court determined the law violated the “Home Rule” provision of the state constitution.

It was argued before the Tennessee Supreme Court last year, but Justice Cornelia Clark died before the court issued a decision. The court decided it would be best for the parties to reargue the case, and it’s scheduled for Feb. 24. 

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The voucher program would offer families $7,500 per year, to be used for tuition, textbooks, tutoring, extracurriculars and more, according to a fact sheet from the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a conservative think tank advocating for parental choice. There would be an income ceiling — a family of four making more than $68,900 would not qualify.

At first, 5,000 students would be eligible for vouchers. The program would expand to 15,000 over a few years.

It’s not clear if Bell’s and Curcio’s bill would take effect if the original voucher law is struck down.

Shelby County Board of Education Chair Michelle McKissack said she’s hopeful that more districts throughout the state will speak out against the bill.

Unlike the 2019 bill that’s in litigation, McKissack said, Bell’s and Curcio’s will negatively impact districts throughout the state. 

“I’m concerned about it,” McKissack said. “But I think there’s strength in numbers and having other school districts come in and see that this is not the best thing for any public school district is what I’m hopeful about.”

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Potential impacts

Educators and legislators in Memphis and Nashville expressed their opposition for the bill because of its potential to take money away from the public school system and the lack of accountability held for private schools. 

Anntriniece Napper, president of the Memphis Shelby-County Education Association, said she and the public school teachers she represents are against the bill.

“Once the kids leave, the money leaves,” Napper said. 

When children leave the public school system and go private, public money goes with them.

Public money is given to private schools that are not required to serve everyone, Napper said. Students with learning disabilities, special needs or of a particular gender can be excluded from private schools. 

Proponents of education savings accounts say the argument is about school choice and giving parents options.

“We are fully supportive,” said Stephanie Whitt, executive vice president of Beacon Impact, the political arm of the Beacon Center. “Our goal is really just to help children get into the school that best serves their needs.”

Whitt said parents being able to make that choice is key to a child’s education.

“We would be for universal school choice across the board,” she said.

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However, some feel the approach is misguided.

“I strongly believe that public dollars for education should stay public,” Haywood County Schools Superintendent Joey Hassell wrote in an email. “I am not opposed to school choice; however, I am opposed to public education dollars flowing to private schools.”

State Sen. Page Walley (R-Bolivar) expressed similar sentiments. 

“Unless it is radically amended, I will not support it as I am quite passionate about our public schools as well,” Walley stated in an email shared online by a Haywood County teacher. “At a time when we are considering revising the BEP, I don’t think we need to be doing this.”

While the bill may not have much immediate impact, it is part of a bigger discussion about school choice and the future of public education. 

J.C. Bowman, director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, said that while he does not support vouchers for private school, he believes the popularity of school choice is only going to grow.

“Public schools take everybody and we need to emphasize our strengths, provide options that parents want and not be afraid to compete with private schools,” Bowman said. 

“Vouchers may be a catalyst for change, but I believe public schools will always be the choice most parents in Tennessee choose, especially in Memphis and Nashville.”