NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Lee’s controversial Tennessee school voucher proposal won approval Wednesday in the House Education Committee, but the governor and some of his fellow Republicans had to make several concessions to get a passing grade.
The GOP-led panel approved the bill after more than two hours of testimony and sometimes-heated debate on a 14-9 vote with one Republican abstaining.
But before that, members approved a last-minute major rewrite of the bill to soften opposition among enough Republican critics to get the bill through. Republican House Speaker Glen Casada himself came into the committee and voted yes to ensure the bill’s passage.
Among the changes in the rewritten bill to create what proponents call “education savings accounts”:
* Parents who want to home-school their children are no longer included.