More than 3,400 Memphis-area kids benefited from state’s new school vouchers. Here’s who got them.
Gov. Bill Lee applauds after signing the Education Freedom Act at the state Capitol, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Nashville. (George Walker IV/AP Photo file)
Most Shelby County students who benefited from the state’s massive expansion of its education voucher program live in top-earning zip codes, according to a Daily Memphian analysis of Tennessee Department of Education data.
But it’s unclear what kind of impact the voucher program, currently in its first year, could have on area public school enrollment.
Tennessee did not ask applicants who sought the $7,295 Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) vouchers whether they were currently students at a public school or whether they were already enrolled at a private school.
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School vouchers Tennessee Department of Education Subscriber Only Education Freedom Scholarship Tennessee Gov. Bill LeeAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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