Education commissioner defends scholarship expansion, summer-learning flexibility and funding increases
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Summary
Commissioner Lizette Reynolds presented the Department of Education FY27 request on Feb. 24, defending proposed funding for the Education Freedom Scholarship expansion, summer-learning flexibility and continued teacher pay increases while answering lawmakers' questions on capacity, TISA interactions and unspent funds.
Lizette Reynolds, Tennessee commissioner of education, appeared before the House Finance committee on Feb. 24 to present the department’s FY27 budget and explain requests that include funding to support Education Freedom Scholarships (EFS) growth, summer-learning flexibility and implementation costs for paid parental leave.
Reynolds said the administration is aligning EFS funding with growth in seats and the updated TISA base and that the budget request includes funding to support 20,000 new seats (5,000 trigger seats and 15,000 new seats as described in the presentation). She told the committee that 98.7% of appropriated education funds go directly to local districts.
On summer learning, Reynolds and deputy Sam Piercy said a $5,000,000 recurring request creates flexibility so districts can target remediation to students who need it and repurpose leftover funds for tutoring during the school year; the department plans appropriations language and an administration cleanup bill to make grant opportunities more streamlined.
Members pressed the department on how EFS interacts with the TISA funding formula. Mary Anne Durske, chief finance officer, explained that Education Freedom Scholarships are funded from a separate pot of money distinct from TISA (the new state funding formula for public schools) and that, while growth in district enrollment can offset some costs, differences in weights and student characteristics mean the offset is not always exact. Trudy Hughes, assistant commissioner, said the department had no reports that awarded scholarships left students unable to find space at an EFS-registered school for the current cohort and noted the department maintained a waitlist in 2025–26 to reallocate unused awards.
Committee members also asked about teacher vacancies and licensure pathways. Christy Brown, chief academic officer, said reported teacher vacancies declined from roughly 1,400 to about 800 across districts and that remaining shortages are concentrated in high-school math, special education and other hard-to-fill areas; she cited apprenticeship and expanded endorsement pathways as part of the department’s response.
Other questions covered COVID-related federal funding drawdowns, charter facility requests, school turnaround phasing and the implementation of a statewide cell-phone policy referenced as Public Chapter 103. Reynolds said district implementation of cell-phone rules varies and the department is collecting teacher feedback on effects in classrooms.
Reynolds and her team agreed to follow up with committee members on capacity questions, administrative breakdowns for scholarship administration, and details requested about TISA interactions and carryforward accounting.
