The Senate passed its version Thursday in a 20-13 vote.Civil rights groups, teachers associations, superintendents and school boards have come out against the plan.Critics have said the program could leave the state open to a lawsuit and funnels money away from public schools.The approved House version calls for the Tennessee Department of Education to A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling says students who entered the country illegally cannot be denied a public education.And the proposals call for a program for up to 15,000 students to participate.

That’s double what’s needed to qualify for free lunch under federal guidelines.State officials had anticipated more participation in the first year but lowered expectations in recent months. The House has nixed that aspect of the bill.The House is calling to create a grant program that would help benefit rural districts and would decrease the amount urban schools receive to reimburse them for students leaving to participate in the program.

In February, Schuyler said she expected “a small splash” in 2020. The deadline to apply is May 7.Deputy Education Commissioner Amity Schuyler, who has overseen the program’s rollout, estimated Thursday that about 500 students will be approved this year to receive an annual average of $7,100 each in public funds to pay for private school or other private education services. Tennessee appeals judges have yet to issue a ruling on Gov. It is one of the most controversial proposals currently working through the Tennessee General Assembly.The legislation says that families eligible for the program would be required to make less than double the federal guidelines to qualify for free lunch. School Voucher Laws: State-by-State Comparison. Only 164 are participating this year out of more than 42,000 eligible students statewide.State officials are not necessarily expecting all families who start the application process to complete it. The family’s household income can’t exceed about $65,000 annually for a family of four. And a total of 61% receive some sort of financial aid. “There’s no reason to do that. "We’re eager to see an education savings account program succeed in providing as many families as possible a choice in determining the best educational environment for their children," he said.Episcopal School of Nashville leader Harrison Stuart has told Senate education committee members the program would allow tuition assistance provided by the school to stretch further for needy parents.Stuart has said his school was not founded to be exclusive. "It was not founded to be an opt-out," he said. Some religious schools, for example, charge higher tuition for families that aren't members of those respective churches.Still, backers of the proposal say the program would make it easier to provide tuition assistance for families wanting to leave their district. The education savings account program would apply only to families in a lower-income bracket, and the money from the state may not cover the full cost of tuition at many private schools.In the Nashville area, a survey of 57 private institutions by the USA TODAY Network – Tennessee shows that the $7,300 provided by the state would cover tuition at fewer than one-third of those schools. The list also includes Catholic, Islamic, Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist schools.Education savings accounts, a voucher-style program, provide public money for parents to send their children to private school or cover other education-related expenses. June 1 is the traditional deadline to assign a seat for the upcoming school year. As of late March, at least 52 private schools have been approved to accept vouchers this year.

In study after study—in Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and beyond— researchers have found that voucher students perform significantly worse than their peers in public schools … She noted that many families are applying for multiple children and that most applications have been for seats in kindergarten through third grade.While the number of applications is under capacity, the final count may eventually be on par with the first year of similar programs in other states, which typically start at 10% of the limit.To be eligible for the funds, students must be attending a Tennessee school this school year or entering kindergarten next year and be zoned for schools in Memphis or Nashville. Private schools must be designated chartered nonpublic schools by the state.

Private schools cannot charge tuition above the value of the voucher to students with household incomes … Families have been unable to tour approved private schools because of shutdowns of school facilities both public and private.By law the program could grow to 15,000 students by its fifth year if maximum capacity is reached each year, but Schuyler said that the program is about choice, not size.“I’ve never gotten any directive that the program was to be about volume,” she said of the focus on starting a high-quality option for parents who want choices beyond public schools.The state’s other education savings account program for students with disabilities has also had low enrollment since starting in 2017. Bill Lee said he expected low enrollment as he stood by his decision to start the program a year earlier than required by the 2019 law, even as public schools are bracing for budget cuts due to the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.It’s uncertain how the pandemic has affected the number of applications. "Lee's proposal has been amended heavily and comes with plenty of questions. Bill Lee's controversial school voucher program that affects Nashville and Memphis schools. And New Hope Academy of Franklin is $11,800 a year for students.New Hope Academy of Franklin Director of Advancement Parker Page said a parent not being able to cover the full cost of tuition is nothing new for the school.He said about 40% of its students already attend on what amounts very close to a full scholarship. On the high end, those include: It also includes two schools whose officials have come out in favor of the program: Episcopal School of Nashville and New Hope Academy of Franklin.The Episcopal School of Nashville's annual tuition is $9,945 for students in grades K-4.

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