Tennessee legislators debate upcoming school choice bill

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The Tennessee Legislature is set to take on a controversial topic for the second straight year.

Their decision will have effects on the future of education in the Volunteer State.

The issue of taxpayer dollars going to students to fund their education in private schools is so divisive that proponents call it school choice while opponents call it school vouchers.

This divide was on  full display among Hamilton County legislators this week.

The Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025 has been filed for the upcoming General Assembly.

The bill calls for up to 20,000 scholarships to be handed out to pay for students to attend a private school.

There is a preference given to the students on the free or reduced lunch program.

Proponents like Representative Greg Martin see it as a chance to increase opportunities for students.

Rep. Martin said, “The question is who gets to make the choice? Is it only people who have means? Is it only people who have money? Or is there opportunity for people on the lower socio-economic scale, do they have an opportunity if they want to have a choice in what they think is a better opportunity for their needs?”

For opponents like Representative Yusuf Hakeem, they have concerns about how this will impact communities.

Rep. Hakeem 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, Representative Martin argues the program won’t take away funding from public schools.

Rep. Martin said, “To me, in Hamilton County, we already have choice, a lot of choice… and yet, our enrollment in our public schools is up over the last year.”

This proposal failed last year, and Representative Hakeem plans to oppose it again.

Rep. Hakeem said, “Let us not kill public education. Let us enhance it, and I don’t see any way of it being enhanced by taking dollars away and putting it into a program that I am not aware that has been successful anywhere in the nation.”

The Tennessee General Assembly convenes in Nashville next month.