Tennessee Getting a New Commissioner of Education

Pro-voucher Commissioner stepping down

Andy Spears
2 min readMay 1, 2023
Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Scwhinn, who openly advocated for shifting public money to private schools via a school voucher scheme dubbed Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) is leaving her role at the end of the school year.

More from NewsBreak:

Current Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn announced her resignation today, effective in just a few weeks when the school year ends for most districts around the state.

Lee commended Schwinn for her service to Tennessee:

“During her years of dedicated service, Penny has played a key role in our administration’s work to ensure educational opportunity for Tennessee students and secure the next generation of teachers, while navigating historic learning challenges,” said Lee. “I have tremendous gratitude for her leadership and wish her much success in her next chapter.”

Lee credited Schwinn with what he called significant education reform, including ushering in the state’s school voucher program.

Schwinn will be replaced by Lizzette Reynolds, a former top official at the Texas Education Agency.

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Andy Spears

Writer and policy advocate living in Nashville, TN —Public Policy Ph.D. — writes on education policy, consumer affairs, and more . . .