Launched this past fall in Memphis and Nashville-area school districts, Tennessee’s education savings account program now has 343 students enrolled at 44 private schools.
The program allows low-income students to use up to $8,200 of state and local money per year for private school tuition and other education-related expenses.
Most of the schools have fewer than 10 students enrolled in the program, but 16 have more than that. In Nashville, the top school for enrollees is Lighthouse Christian School with 33. In Memphis, it’s the Collegiate School of Memphis with 32, according to state data released to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Over 1,000 families applied for the program, but some were deemed ineligible because the applicants lived outside of the school district, state officials said in a phone call.
With a goal of 5,000 students, the program is in its infancy, launched swiftly after a favorable court ruling. Legislators are considering an expansion into Hamilton County for the savings accounts, known informally by some in the education arena as private school vouchers.