Tennessee House backs private-school voucher expansion

The Tennessee House voted narrowly Monday to expand the state’s private-school voucher program, capping it at 35,000 for next year but putting it at odds with the Senate’s proposal.

Led by Republicans, the House voted 52-43 to adopt an amended voucher bill that nearly doubles Gov. Bill Lee’s main initiative in its second year but falls short of the governor’s request, cutting expenses by $38 million. 

After nearly two hours of debate, the margin was two more than constitutionally required for passage.

“This is about creating an opportunity for our students to excel,” said Republican Rep. Scott Cepicky of Culleoka.

House Bill 2532, sponsored by Republican Majority Leader William Lamberth, adds a total of 15,000 vouchers, 5,000 fewer than the Senate plan, which matches the governor’s proposal and is to be taken up Wednesday.

Lamberth, a Portland Republican, justified the expansion, in part, by saying the state is “rocking when it comes to funding public schools” by pushing starting teacher pay to $50,000 and adding $3.5 billion to K-12 education over the last decade.

“We’ve had school choice in this state forever, as long as you’ve got a big bag of cash at home,” Lamberth said.

Differences in the bill are expected to push the bills into a conference committee where members from both chambers could work out a compromise.

Lee put some $305 million in his budget plan to fund the expansion up to 40,000 vouchers, worth about $7,500 each.

The bill ran into opposition from Republicans and Democrats. 

GOP Rep. Monty Fritts of Kingston, a gubernatorial candidate who is not seeking reelection to the House, said the state is required to provide a public education but noted he believes the voucher program is unconstitutional.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper told lawmakers they were moving too quickly to expand and predicted more money will go into vouchers at the expense of schools such as those in Memphis, forcing them to shut down.

“The economic engine will go away,” Camper said, asking for a chance to “absorb” the impact of the program’s first year before nearly doubling the number of vouchers.

Other Democrats were more emphatic. 

Democratic Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville described Lamberth and House Speaker Cameron Sexton as “snake oil salesmen” trying to sell a “scam.” 

And Democratic Rep. Caleb Hemmer, who represents an affluent area in southern Davidson County, said a friend who lives in Belle Meade and sends his children to private school thanked him for helping fund a summer vacation with the funds.

The state has received 56,442 applications for vouchers in 2026-27, according to Rep. William Slater of Gallatin, former headmaster at Hendersonville Christian School. 

Slater argued that even with 35,000 slots, the program would fall “far short” of the number of families wanting to use it.

Under the bill, new recipients for next year would come from lower income brackets at 100% to 300% of the federal poverty level, about $94,000 for a family of four. Students from families with higher incomes are to follow those categories.

In addition to limiting the increase, the House bill changes a provision designed to keep school districts from losing state funds when students transfer. 

Under the new plan, the state would inject funds when districts lose students who take the vouchers, rather than the current guideline that provides funds to districts that experience enrollment decreases for any reason. The latter was designed to sweeten the pot for local educators who opposed the program’s passage in 2025.

Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson, who has criticized the program’s lack of “transparency,” tried to pass several amendments, including one that would maintain the current plan to maintain state funding for school districts that lose students for any reason.

“Fifteen months later, we’re completely changing the deal,” Barrett said, adding school districts will see the same costs when they lose students.

House members did adopt one amendment by Barrett, preventing voucher funds from going to schools that teach students to threaten the United States. But that was wiped out when lawmakers adopted a final amendment that rewrote the entire bill.

The amended House bill also tracks students who leave public schools for the private-school voucher program. Even though the state estimated 66% of the students receiving the funds last year were enrolled in private schools already, the Department of Education declined to provide information showing the number leaving public schools.

Under the new House measure, the department would be required to publish a yearly report on applications from counties, the number attending a public school and information on household income.