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This article is one of 74 2024 election coverage, which examines the candidates’ education policies and their potential impact on the American market. education system after the 2024 elections.

A day after the 2024 election, Gov. Bill Lee and lawmakers launched a “universal” recycled voucher program for private schools, designed to gain support from teachers and school districts with additional spending.

The measure doesn’t come with a funding estimate, but lawmakers set aside $144 million in this year’s budget for a plan that didn’t pass, and the new proposal could cost $275 million additional funds, plus funds to give teachers a one-time bonus of $2,000. Additionally, 80% of sports betting money must go toward building and maintaining K-12 public schools.

Lee’s plan would provide 20,000 “scholarships” worth $7,075 to students interested in enrolling in private schools in 2025-2026, 10,000 of which would go to students from families at or below 300 percent of the maximum income to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches – which is estimated to be nearly $175,000 per family income. Students with disabilities and those participating in the state’s education savings account program would also be eligible.

Some 350 private schools would be eligible to participate in the program and would be required to administer the state’s standardized test or one corresponding to their curriculum, but the bill says they would preserve educational freedom.

The state would add 5,000 “grants” each year once 75 percent of them are awarded to students.

In introducing the bill, Lee and key lawmakers said they wanted to provide students with a chance for educational success “regardless of their ZIP code.”

“Giving parents the ability to choose for their child will provide more opportunity and reduce poverty across our state,” said House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who opposed the school voucher program in 2019. “Increased competition for a student’s enrollment will make schools, school systems and administrators respond to the need for higher quality education.

Lawmakers failed to pass a similar bill proposed by the governor earlier this year, with the Senate and House unable to agree on widely disparate versions. The House bill included funding to give teachers more money for insurance as well as allowing districts to maintain school buildings. The Senate version allowed students to transfer to any public district in the state.

Lee told reporters Wednesday that this was the bill’s “next step” and said he believed lawmakers were “moving in that direction” to pass the bill. General Assembly leaders tried to address members’ concerns in drafting the bill, he said.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth said in a statement that the bill “leaves no stone unturned when it comes to providing the best possible educational pathway to prepare the next generation for success.” He said the measure would allow public schools to remain the foundation of Tennessee’s education system while allowing parents, rather than the governor, to determine which route most helps their children.

The press release also states that the bill “ensures that state funding for school districts will never decrease due to disenrollment,” and the governor confirmed that on Wednesday.

One of the biggest complaints from opponents is that vouchers for private schools will drain money from public schools.