Sen. Gardenhire-sponsored school voucher bill passes Tennessee Senate

State senator Todd Gardenhire speaks to the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club during their luncheon in this file photo.
State senator Todd Gardenhire speaks to the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club during their luncheon in this file photo.

NASHVILLE -- A bill allowing taxpayer-funded vouchers to pay for some low-income students to attend private schools easily cleared the Senate today.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, passed on a 24-8 vote. The House companion bill is scheduled to come before the Government Operations Committee on Wednesday.

As passed, the voucher bill, dubbed "opportunity scholarships" by advocates, would initially apply only to children eligible for free or reduced lunch programs, a common measure of poverty, and who now attend public schools in the bottom 5 percent statewide. The number of students it would apply to is phased in over a several year period with a cap of 20,000 students.

But if the number of parents who take advantage of the vouchers falls below caps, parents of low-income students attending any public school in the district would be eligible to use the vouchers.

The bill at this point would only apply to Hamilton, Shelby, Knox and Jackson-Madison county school systems as well as Metro Nashville.

"It puts pressure on the accountability of the local school district to finally help these students who are low performing," Gardenhire said.

But citing a fiscal note showing public schools could lose as much as $70 million, Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, warned the loss of money would only add to legal arguments now part of a lawsuit filed by school boards in seven counties, including Hamilton County. The schools charge state government is violating the Tennessee Constitution by failing to adequately fund public education.

Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, argued that while the bill would divert state funding and some local per-pupil funding , it would by no means strip all the local funds, thus providing a net gain to the public schools.

The Senate previously passed much broader voucher bills sponsored by Kelsey in 2011 and 2014. They've failed in the House but appear to have momentum this year.

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