Tennessee lawmakers are struggling to reach agreement on a school voucher bill, with the House and Senate left divided over what should be included in the bill.
Each chamber of the General Assembly has proposed its own version of a school voucher bill. Opinions remain divided over the proposals in both chambers, as a Senate committee prepares to hear both chambers on Tuesday.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee is hopeful that lawmakers can come together on a compromise before the current legislative session ends, according to Fox Chattanooga.
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Each chamber of the Tennessee General Assembly has proposed its own version of a school voucher bill. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Tennessee lawmakers are looking to expand the state’s existing school voucher program, which is limited to students with special needs or who live in certain counties.
As currently billed, the House version would cost $500 million.
“In addition to focusing on $144 million in school choice, we in the House of Representatives need to do something to strengthen the $8.5 billion we are investing in K-12 public schools. I feel it,” Republican Rep. William Lamberth told Fox Chattanooga. “You can address both in the same bill, and I think we can and should focus on both.”
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was seen reading to schoolchildren during a recent classroom visit. (Tennessee Governor’s Office)
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The Senate version costs half as much as the House version, but does not include House provisions such as increasing state payments to teacher health insurance plans, changes to evaluations for principals and teachers, and changes to testing requirements.
The main purpose of the Senate version is to enact the Lee Educational Freedom Scholarship Act and begin intercounty school admissions.
“We’re focused on families first, and we want to do what we have to do to improve the quality of life for every family in Tennessee,” Democratic U.S. Rep. John Ray Clemons told Fox Chattanooga. he said. “And because of this fiscal mismanagement, that’s not happening at this point.”
