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School voucher proposal fails again in Tennessee General Assembly

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.

NASHVILLE — A proposal that would let parents move a child from a failing public school in Tennessee to a private school with funding from the state has failed this year — for the third consecutive Tennessee General Assembly session.

House sponsor Bill Dunn withdrew the school voucher proposal, or “opportunity scholarship,” from the House Finance subcommittee on Tuesday and said he will likely try again next year.

“The votes just aren’t there,” said Dunn, R-Knoxville.

The legislation is similar to an unsuccessful measure Republican Gov. Bill Haslam proposed last year. The governor also failed to pass voucher legislation in the previous session.

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