The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a> legislature approved a school choice bill on Thursday, sending the long-sought legislation to Governor Bill Lee’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill, the Education Freedom Act, is a key victory for the governor after efforts to pass the legislation last year fell short. The state General Assembly passed the bill in a 54 to 44 vote on Thursday, a day after the Senate approved it 20 to 13, according to <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/30/tennessee-school-vouchers-republicans-pass-447m-program/78051836007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Tennessean</a>.
“I&#8217;ve long believed we can have the best public schools &amp; give parents a choice in their child&#8217;s education, regardless of income or zip code. Today is a milestone in advancing education in TN,” Lee said in a statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
TN just passed the Education Freedom Act to deliver Universal School Choice!
I&#39;ve long believed we can have the best public schools &amp; give parents a choice in their child&#39;s education, regardless of income or zip code.
Today is a milestone in advancing education in TN. <a href="https://t.co/HiwWbxr9od">pic.twitter.com/HiwWbxr9od</a>
&mdash; Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovBillLee/status/1885080591181222042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
The bill will have limited impact at first and ramp up in later years. For the 2025-2026 school year under the bill, the state will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-this-the-year-tennessee-wins-on-school-choice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offer</a> 20,000 scholarships of about $7,300 each. Parents can apply for the scholarship and use the funds toward tuition, books, and other education-related expenses. Half of the scholarships will have an income requirement to be eligible.
The program will grow by 5,000 additional scholarships offered in the 2026-2027 school year. Both public and private school attendees are eligible to apply.
“It is estimated that 7,000 … scholarships will be awarded to public school students and 13,000 will be awarded to private school students in FY25-26. It is assumed that scholarships will continue to be awarded on a 65/35 basis in FY26-27 and subsequent years,” the legislature projected in an <a href="https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/FM0013.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> of the bill.
The bill also promises that school districts will not see a drop in state funding even if they see a drop in students next year. The legislation also approves a one-time bonus to teachers of $2,000.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump publicly backed the push for school choice in Tennessee.
“We will very soon be sending Education BACK TO THE STATES, where it belongs. It is our goal to bring Education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113907637484810162" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Truth Social.
The bill received some bipartisan pushback, but the GOP supermajority in the Tennessee legislature overcame the criticism. The final vote on the legislation in the General Assembly came after over four hours of debate.

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Tennessee Passes School Choice: ‘Milestone In Advancing Education’

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Tennessee Passes School Choice: ‘Milestone In Advancing Education’