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Tennessee parents upset about local public school policies requiring masks or virtual learning could get state funding to send their child to a private school under a voucher proposal filed this week by two Republican lawmakers.
Rep. Michael Curcio and Sen. Mike Bell want to expand a voucher program approved by the legislature in 2019 but halted in 2020 by a Tennessee judge for applying only to students in Memphis and Nashville. The case is under appeal, with arguments scheduled before the Tennessee Supreme Court in February.
The bill would expand the law to make vouchers that are known as education savings accounts available to students in any Tennessee district that mandates masks or does not offer at least 180 days of in-person learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, it does not afford the same opportunity for students whose parents are upset about the absence of a mask mandate, or would like their student to switch to virtual learning when COVID-19 cases surge.