The First Day of The End of Public Education in Tennessee
Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher scheme starts today
A plan that will require more than $1 billion in state funds and that has a track record of failure in other states begins today in Tennessee.
Gov. Bill Lee’s signature public policy initiative — universal school vouchers — is now a reality in the Volunteer State.
The plan gives families coupons worth about $7300 to use at private schools.
Similar schemes have busted budgets in other states.
Some Democratic lawmakers are raising alarm bells as the program gets its start:
“It’s a shame private school vouchers have made it this far. We’ve seen the evidence — vouchers drain public schools of resources, lead to worse outcomes for students, and waste millions in public tax dollars. The data is clear: Vouchers do not work,” said Senate Democratic Caucus Chair London Lamar.
Recent evidence out of Ohio suggests voucher programs could actually lead to worse academic outcomes for students.
On all proficiency tests, students getting a voucher for one year or less overall are about 75% proficient. Three years later, they’re 54% proficient.
That’s a drop of nearly 1/3!
Ouch. Not great. Students are LOSING ground academically after taking vouchers.
Put another way, the voucher students’ first-year scores would rank in the top 1/4 of all Ohio Public School Districts; their third-year scores would rank in the bottom 1/5 of all Ohio Public School Districts.
Tennessee’s own fiscal analysis says the plan could result in $50 million LESS in state funds available for local public schools in the first year alone.
So, today marks the beginning of the end of public schools as we’ve come to know them in Tennessee.
