Education Freedom Scholarship launches in Tennessee

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- After a controversial path to being passed, Tennessee’s new school choice program has gone live.

At noon central Thursday, The Tennessee Department of Education launched the application link for the Education Freedom Scholarship.

Over 33,000 Tennessee families according to Governor Lee’s office have applied for the program.

Gov. Lee said, “Education has the power to change the trajectory of a child’s life forever.”

When parents click on the link to register, they are prompted to make an account.

Afterwards, they are taken to a three step application process asking for student information, eligibility, and to verify residency.

Parents have to create a new application for each new student they plan to enroll.

This scholarship, planned to be given to 20,000 students in its first year, has garnered criticism, primarily from Democrats.

Rep. Yusuf Hakeem previously said, “It takes away the mixture of students that we have. In my case, I needed those, I guess, superior students around me, to push me. Are we going to have a group of young people that we consider the underclass?”

However, Non-Profit education advocacy group Excel In Ed says they believe this will have positives for Tennessee students.

They referenced their studies of Florida’s universal school choice system, which has been in operation in some form since 2000.

Senior Policy Director Ben DeGrow said, “There’s research that shows students perform better academically than their peers of the same income levels and backgrounds, as well as research that shows that students are more likely to attend college, complete college, and attain success beyond high school.”

The student enrollment deadline for the program is July 15th.

32 private schools in Hamilton, Bradley, and McMinn are among eligible schools in our area that can take this scholarship.