If the Education Freedom Act is, as officials have said, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s and the General Assembly’s top priority this year, it doesn’t make sense to shoehorn its passage into a special session that also includes two other sensitive issues.
When the plan is as controversial as the governor’s, that in two years would offer $7,000 grants for students who want to go to private schools, more time for debate and discussion — rather than less — is needed to hash out all the concerns, we believe.
But that may be the point.
If the Republican governor believes he has added enough sweeteners to convince a majority of Republican legislators to pass the plan, he may want to get it done without a lot of discussion.
Don’t get us wrong. We always have been a fan of more educational choices, but passing a potentially wildly expensive proposal without solid vetting is not our idea of sound stewardship of state funds.