Tennessee’s education chief said students using public money to attend private schools haven’t performed well on achievement tests, raising questions about whether the state should start another voucher program.
Seven months into her administration, Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told senators Jan. 10 that education savings account students’ test results “aren’t anything to write home about.” She noted they are required to take the state’s standardized test at the end of the year.
Reynolds, however, added that parents are “happy with this new learning environment for their students.” An advocate for school choice out of Texas and Florida, Reynolds replaced Penny Schwinn as commissioner in July 2023.
Her comments led Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, to say even though parents may be happy with the program, their children should be performing as well or better than their peers in public schools.
Akbari, who opposed the savings account program when it was created in 2019, said the state has only a year-and-a-half of data in the pilot program, yet is already “talking about expanding it.”
Just two years into the program after a protracted legal challenge, lawmakers this session will be considering Gov. Bill Lee’s new proposal for statewide Education Freedom Scholarships, a new form of private school vouchers.
The state approved 2,727 applications for students in the Shelby County, Metro Nashville and Hamilton County school districts to use the education savings account program, which enables qualifying students to use public funds to attend private schools. Of that number, 2,134 students are enrolled in private schools through the pilot program, up from 452 students from Shelby and Metro Nashville in the program’s initial year.
Hamilton County was added to the program for its second year.
Akbari said she would have supported the legislation five years ago if it had proven successful in other states.
“I certainly think we need a few more years of evaluation before expanding the program in Tennessee,” she said in a statement to the Tennessee Lookout.
(READ MORE: Gov. Lee touts school voucher program during Chattanooga visit)
The proposed private school voucher program will be separate from the saving account program, and the governor has said accountability will be part of the bill. But he has not been clear on whether students will have to take the same state achievement test as those in public schools.
In the proposed voucher program’s first year, 20,000 students could qualify to receive $7,075 annually to enroll in private schools under the governor’s plan. In the second year, the program would be available to every student in the state who qualifies to attend a K-12 public school.
Senate Education Committee Chair Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, said Tuesday he’s not worried about starting a new voucher program even though education savings account students’ scores on the state test are weak.
“My quick reply would be let’s take a look at how the kids were doing before that,” he said. “I think you would find out a lot of those were more than struggling in the situation they were forced to deal with. That it’s a struggle for them to catch up, you bet.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.