Education committee advances bill creating Education Freedom scholarships, directs wagering funds to school facilities and teacher bonuses

The Tennessee House Education Committee voted 17-7 to advance House Bill 6004 as amended, sending the measure to the Government Operations Committee after more than five hours of testimony and debate.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Leo Lambert, would create Education Freedom scholarships (a form of Education Savings Accounts), direct a portion of sports-wagering revenue toward K-12 facilities, and provide a $2,000 one-time bonus for eligible K–12 teachers. Rep. Lambert told the committee that the amendment (code 2431) ‘‘would allocate this specifically so that $25 per student would go to distressed or at risk counties, high performing LEAs and fast growing counties.’’

Why it matters: supporters say the measure expands parental choice and targets new revenue streams to school infrastructure and teacher pay. Opponents warned the program could reduce state support for public districts over time, disproportionately affect rural systems and students with disabilities, and shift recurring costs to local governments despite ‘‘hold harmless’’ language in the amendment.

What the amendment does: the amendment adopted in committee (code 2431) directs about 80% of incoming sports-wagering revenue enumerated in the bill to an infrastructure/disbursement account. From that account the amendment requires an initial allocation of $25 per student to specified LEAs (distressed/at-risk counties, high-performing LEAs and fast-growing LEAs). If funds remain after that distribution, the amendment gives priority to public schools that sustained ‘‘significant damage’’ from an emergency or natural disaster; the state treasurer is directed to disperse no less than 15% of any remaining funds to disaster-impacted LEAs once complete applications are received. Remainder funds would be available for other LEA facility needs on application.

Testing, bonuses and eligibility: the amended bill requires participating students to take a nationally normed test; the amendment also requires statistical sampling of students taking the TCAP in private schools so those results can be compared ‘‘apples to apples’’ with public-school TCAP results, sponsor Lambert said. The amendment excludes K–12 educators who are legislators from receiving the $2,000 teacher bonus. Lambert told the committee the measure includes $198,000,000 in one-time funds to provide a $2,000 bonus to public K–12 teachers, and that the bonus provision is limited to the subsection identified in the amendment.

Hold harmless and state funding: the amendment includes a ‘‘hold harmless’’ provision tied to the TISA funding formula. Lambert said the language was clarified in the amendment to reset a funding floor each year so that an LEA’s allocation ‘‘resets the floor up each year, and it cannot go backwards.’’ He told the committee, ‘‘We haven't gone backward for a decade in K through public education funding, and we're not gonna start now.’’ Opponents pointed to fiscal-note estimates and outside analyses and said the hold-harmless language, as written, may not fully protect all districts if program costs grow.

Public testimony and debate: opponents — including Aaron Pratt (Engage Board Organization) and Drew Sutton (Tennessee Education Association) — argued the program would divert public dollars to private schools, worsen inequities, and leave vulnerable students without guaranteed services. Pratt said, ‘‘I stand before you to strongly oppose the school voucher proposal.’’ Sutton said the fiscal note projects substantial costs and noted that many vouchers in other states have gone to students already enrolled in private schools; he warned the long-term fiscal pressure could erode public-school budgets.

Supporters — including private-school leaders and a representative of the governor’s office — said the measure expands options for families. Kevin Klein, superintendent of Lakeway Christian Schools, told the committee that ‘‘when parents have tools to choose the best educational path for their child, everyone benefits.’’ Betsy Henderson, chair of the Knox County School Board speaking in a personal capacity, said school choice can ‘‘open doors of opportunity, especially for families who lack the resources.’’ Michael Hendricks, policy director for Gov. Bill Lee, said the bill ‘‘doubles down on those investments in our public schools and our classroom teachers.’’

Procedural votes: the committee first adopted amendment 2431 by voice vote. After public testimony and debate, the committee chair called the question; the committee then took a roll-call vote on House Bill 6004 as amended. The clerk reported 17 ayes and 7 noes; the chair announced, ‘‘House bill 6004 passes and moves on to government operations.’’

Next steps: the bill will now be considered in the Government Operations Committee; any additional changes there would be subject to further committee action before a floor vote. The committee did not adopt additional binding directions for implementation beyond the amendment language and the treasurer/department responsibilities spelled out in the amended text.

Ending: committee members debated the bill's effects on public-school funding, special education access and long-term fiscal risk before moving the measure forward. The roll-call showed the bill passed the Education Committee by a 17-7 margin and was referred to Government Operations.