On Tuesday, April 23, legislation (HB 939 & SB 795) to permit students in Davidson and Shelby counties (home to Nashville, Memphis, and more than 90% of the state’s failing schools) to utilize ESAs to access better educational opportunities — be that a private school, a charter school, or a high-performing public school — passed out of the Senate Finance Committee by a 6 to 5 vote and passed the full House by a vote of 50 to 48.
Today’s vote marks a historic day for Tennessee’s students and parents. Members of the Tennessee House took a courageous stand for the right of parents to choose the educational setting that works best for their children,” Shaka Mitchell, executive director at the Tennessee Federation for Children, said after yesterday’s vote. “We commend Governor Bill Lee, Speaker Glen Casada, Majority Leader William Lamberth, Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn, Chairman Mark White, and many others for their leadership and efforts on behalf of Tennessee’s students and their families.”
ESA funds can be used for tuition, school supplies, tutoring services, and extracurricular activities. In an op-ed in today’s Tennessean, Mitchell describes ESAs as “an innovative, student-centric solution that allow participating families to have their tax dollars follow their student to pay for a variety of education expenses.”
In that op-ed, Mitchell debunks claims that school choice does not benefit students by pointing to research from the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which looked at 18 gold-standard studies on the academic outcomes of students participating in private school choice programs. 14 of those 18 studies show positive results for participating students, two have neutral findings, and two have negative findings.
A report released at the end of 2018 by the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a Nashville-based think tank, found that Tennessee’s existing ESA program, currently available to students with certain special needs, will yield the following benefits for the Volunteer State:
• An increase in the number of high school graduates in the state by 13,480, leading to $2.9 billion in economic benefits by 2038;
• An increase in overall personal income in the state by $683 million by 2038; and
• Reduce the number of felons in the state by 15,451 and the number of misdemeanants by 21,380, producing societal benefits of $685 million by 2038."
In addition to the research that shows expanding school choice is beneficial to students, polling indicates it’s smart politics for lawmakers. Mason-Dixon poll released in February found 78% of those polled support ESA programs.
During yesterday’s debate on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Deputy House Speaker Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough) addressed misinformation being spread about the ESA expansion bill, explaining that accusations of cuts to public schools are simply false. In addition to pointing out that public education spending in Tennessee will continue to rise with passage of the ESA expansion bill, Representative Hill explained that teacher salaries in Tennessee are up more than 40% since GOP took control of the legislature.
President Trump tweeted out his support for Tennessee's ESA expansion bill on Wednesday evening:
The Great State of Tennessee is so close to passing School Choice. All of our Nation’s children, regardless of background, deserve a shot at achieving the American Dream! Time to get this done, so important!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019
The ESA expansion bill is expected to get a Senate floor vote on Thursday, April 24. If approved by the Senate, a conference committee will work out the differences between the House and Senate versions to set up a final vote in each chamber to send the bill to Governor Lee’s desk for enactment.
