Candidates sound off on failure of Gov. Lee’s Education Freedom Act

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Some of the voices behind the proposals for the Education Freedom Scholarship Act are giving insight as to why the idea stalled in Tennessee this past legislative session.

If passed, it ideally would’ve allowed families to use taxpayer dollars to transfer from a public school not meeting a child’s needs to a private school.

During the 2024 legislative session, there were three versions of school choice bills: one from the House, one from the Senate and another from Gov. Bill Lee. Ultimately, none of their visions became a reality because not everyone could get on the same page.

At the Republican National Convention (RNC) a few weeks ago in Milwaukee, Lee discussed his passion for school vouchers in Tennessee.

“They attacked parental rights,” Lee said at the RNC. “Republican governors fought back for a parent’s right to choose their own child’s education. President Trump was right when he said school choice is the civil rights issue of our time.”

Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) addressed the controversial topic at a recent candidate’s forum at Calvary Chapel of Columbia in Maury County. He did not hold back when discussing the governor’s take on the legislation.

“The governor’s bill, and I’m not afraid to say this, was terrible,” Cepicky said. “It was wide open. It would’ve probably added a billion dollars to the budget. We said absolutely not. The Senate had a version that really wasn’t much better.”

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Under the House’s plan, Cepicky said homeschoolers were ruled out, private schoolers had protections, and there were provisions added to keep tax dollars from breaking the bank.

“I didn’t want a kid going from a failing public school to a private school and then making that private school do all the things that the failing public school was doing,” Cepicky said. “If a student would go from a public to a private school, then in our bill, they would be given the same curriculum, the same tests as those students, but those test scores would be reported not to the state, but to an independent third party that would strip away all the identifying information of that student, including the school. We have to have accountability when you start talking about that many zeroes.”

Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) said it’s not often that her republican colleagues disagree with the governor, but the topic of school choice was a rare example of that.

“They know damn well that their constituents don’t want them to do it,” Campbell said. “I really do hope that Tennesseeans understand that that is a scam. It’s about greed and the profit of a few individuals on the backs of Tennesseans. If a voucher plan passes in the state of Tennessee, taxes will be raised. We know this because we’ve seen this happen in other states, and it’s not a sustainable policy for education. Moreover, public education will be completely destroyed if we pass a voucher program.”

Despite disagreements, Lee still endorsed Cepicky in the state primary next month over Maury County Commissioner Ray Jeter.

After his plan for a statewide school voucher program failed to make it through the legislature, Lee said he was disappointed but remains committed to pursuing education freedom next year.

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