NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An effort to create a school voucher program in Tennessee has cleared its last major committee before a full House vote.
The House Finance Committee voted 11-10 Tuesday in favor of the measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville. The Senate has already passed its version of the bill, and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said earlier Tuesday that he plans to sign the measure into law if it remains unchanged from its current form.
Under the bill, the voucher worth about $7,000 would be made available to parents of children eligible for free or reduced lunch who attend schools ranking in the bottom 5 percent statewide. The program would grow by 5,000 students in each year until reaching 20,000 students.