NASHVILLE — A bill allowing taxpayer-funded vouchers to pay for some low-income students to attend private schools easily cleared the Senate today.
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, passed on a 24-8 vote. The House companion bill is scheduled to come before the Government Operations Committee on Wednesday.
As passed, the voucher bill, dubbed “opportunity scholarships” by advocates, would initially apply only to children eligible for free or reduced lunch programs, a common measure of poverty, and who now attend public schools in the bottom 5 percent statewide. The number of students it would apply to is phased in over a several year period with a cap of 20,000 students.
But if the number of parents who take advantage of the vouchers falls below caps, parents of low-income students attending any public school in the district would be eligible to use the vouchers.
The bill at this point would only apply to Hamilton, Shelby, Knox and Jackson-Madison county school systems as well as Metro Nashville.