Many political commentators, when speaking on problems within public education, will highlight issues such as right-wing efforts to ban books or prohibit teachings on some of the unflattering parts of our history. They’ll also point out things like poor test scores, school building conditions or low teacher pay.
All of these are critical issues that warrant thorough discussion. But perhaps the biggest threat schools face — one that could erode the very foundation of public education — is the Republican-led effort for universal school vouchers.
Chalkbeat Tennessee reported this past week that state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson plans to make the first bill filed for this upcoming legislative session a statewide school voucher proposal.
This signals a clear legislative priority from Gov. Bill Lee. After failing to get it through the state legislature last session, it’s apparent the governor is determined to sign a universal school voucher bill before he leaves office.