Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee views school vouchers as a way to 'undo the disparities'

Gov. Bill Lee is doubling down on his comments calling school choice the "civil rights issue of our time" ahead of a Thursday election that could emerge as a referendum on his signature private school voucher plan.

Lee’s comments, first made during a primetime address at the Republican National Committee, rankled Democrats and some educators. Opponents of Lee’s plan warn a universal voucher program will damage Tennessee public schools, which are open to all and must offer explicit civil rights protections that private and religious schools are not held to.

In recent weeks, the governor has stumped for school choice nationally and worked the campaign trail for his favored candidates, pro-voucher conservatives in competitive Republican primaries, while school choice groups like Americans for Prosperity and the School Freedom Fund have flooded some races with dark-money funding for a bevy of ad campaigns ahead of the Aug. 1 primary.

In an interview with The Tennessean in Milwaukee, Lee reiterated his long-held goal for school choice in Tennessee to ensure “every child” has access to educational opportunities that he says only a “select group of children” have access to currently. Lee said he's driven by a personal mentoring experience with an at-risk Nashville student who later thrived in a private school setting.

“It gives an equal access to every child regardless of their demographic, their ZIP code, their income,” Lee said. “It gives equal access for every child to educational opportunities that their parents think are best for them. As it is now, the most underserved in our communities, for the most part, are the ones who are relegated to the most underperforming schools.”

Critics push back on 'civil rights' framing

Lee’s comments struck a nerve with Missy Testerman, a rural East Tennessee public school educator who was named National Teacher of the Year in April. The morning after Lee’s RNC speech, Testerman posted on social media that, "choosing to not fully fund public schools in your state when you have funds on hand is indeed a civil rights issue.”

Testerman is critical of the General Assembly’s decision to pass a budget including $144 million for Lee’s 2024 school voucher proposal, which ultimately failed to advance this year . Testerman said Tennessee’s public schools “have needs now” that could benefit from the funding earmarked for a school choice plan that doesn’t exist yet.

But Lee’s framing of school choice as a civil rights issue also rankled Testerman, who sees public schools as a place for all children who need them.

“Public schools educate every student who enrolls, even those who have exceptional needs,” Testerman said. “Private schools are not required to accept students with disabilities, English language learners, or even students who cannot afford to pay the outstanding balance of the cost beyond what the voucher pays.”

The Senate Democratic Caucus earlier this month also criticized Lee's comments and push for school vouchers as a policy that “promotes segregation and inequality,” given private schools’ ability to determine their own enrollment and turn away students for any reason.

"We have to be careful when we talk about civil rights, when you tie any subject to civil rights. These are fundamental rights that typically have been withheld from an individual or a bloc of people," said Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis.

The caucus statement also reflected the history of public school integration in the South , where Black children were not allowed access to all-white public schools. The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court integration mandate spawned another school choice movement of its time, as white families established private, often religious schools to avoid sending their children to integrated public schools.

Lee has brushed off criticism over his civil rights comment and concerns school vouchers could increase inequality in schooling and instead sees a modern school choice movement as a way to "undo" disparities seen in past generations.

"In fact, what my heart is, as I pursue school choice, is to undo those disparities that exist in the educational system,' Lee said, noting he "can't change" what has happened in the past. "What I know is that where we are today, the children with the least opportunity in this state will continue to have the least opportunity unless we change the educational system opportunities that are available to them. It is the way to undo the disparities. That is the reason why this modern school choice movement is about opportunity for every kid, no matter who they are. That's why I'm pursuing this so heavily."

Akbari with the governor's sentiment that "children should be able to have an extraordinary education and should not be limited by the circumstances they can't control," but she questions how that can be achieved with private schools that can essentially "pick who they want" to attend.

"A kid should be able to go to a well-funded, well-resourced public school in their community no matter their ZIP code or socioeconomic status," Akbari said. "School choice takes public dollars and gives them to private schools that are not held to the same standards."

Lee to push for statewide plan in 2025

Lee's signature proposal for a voucher program, which he calls education freedom scholarships, failed in the General Assembly this spring after House and Senate Republicans were unable to compromise on key aspects of the bill. Lee and legislative Republican leaders are clear they will revisit the plan next year.

Democrats have long opposed school vouchers, warning they'll act as a coupon system for wealthy families and potentially send the state budget into a tailspin, pointing to a similar Arizona program where costs have ballooned amid many current private school families tapping into the program.

The issue isn't strictly partisan, though, as some Republicans are hesitant about the proposal, particularly those in more rural districts where the public school system is often the only educational option and the centerpiece of the local community.

"To compare it to a civil rights issue, I’m not sure where the governor is going there," said Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, who has been openly critical of the voucher proposal. "It’s going to be very interesting to see how the governor-backed candidates fare on Thursday. If they lose, there’s going to be a big message sent across the state."

Though Lee's school choice plan won't be on the ballot this week, a string of state races could serve as a litmus test for voters on the issue.

Lee has taken the rare step of endorsing candidates in competitive Republican primaries while groups like Americans for Prosperity and the School Freedom Fund, associated with the libertarian-leaning Club for Growth, pledged to inject millions into Tennessee legislative races.

The School Freedom Fund is working to oppose voucher skeptic Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, and support voucher-friendly Republican candidates in Clarksville and Williamson County like Lee Reeves in House District 65. Reeves is seeking an open seat vacated by the retirement of Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin, who is backing Reeves' opponent Brian Beathard. Lee endorsed Reeves earlier this summer.

“I think competition is a good thing and that it improves the product that is delivered to the consumer," Reeves said at a July candidate forum. "The state should care that kids get educated, not where they get educated.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee views school vouchers as a way to 'undo the disparities'