Conservative Republicans have been eager to bring vouchers to Tennessee but they have gotten significant pushback from rural legislators, who don’t want vouchers to destroy their local public schools.
So the sponsor of the voucher legislation has scaled back his bill to make it vouchers for Shelby County only, that is, Memphis.
As usual, the most extreme of the Republicans, who never cared a fig about poor children before, are eager to help poor kids “escape” from failing public schools and go to religious schools where they can study creationism.
The BATS and the Momma Bears are fighting this bad legislation.
Do you think they know or care that vouchers haven’t provided better education anywhere? The first evaluation of the new Louisiana voucher program came out recently and reported that children in the voucher program lost ground during their first year. They were not saved.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I love how ed reform has completely abandoned their principled opposition to vouchers and there just won’t ever be any mention of that “opposition” again.
Another debate that ended without a debate. On to vouchers for everyone! What do politicians call them? “Backpack vouchers”, right? You take your voucher and redeem it at the school services provider.
Chiara, the modern backpack voucher can be used for homeschooling. That’s an advance for education for the 21st century, no?
Today in the State Senate, here in Arizona, a voucher bill for all students is going to be heard. An identical bill has already passed out of the House.
The legislature & almost every entity is controlled by Republicans, including Goldwater Institute minion Clint Bulock, a recent appointeeto the State Supreme Court. He is a CEO of a national charter & promotes wide expansion of charters.
This will simply add to the reintroduction of Jim Crow education that is being gently ushered in by TN Republicans and their showpiglets.
Vouchers encourage segregation. The TN legislature knows that.
Vouchers are tabled. Rep. Dunn said he didn’t have the votes. To bring the bill back, it would take (and there was some debate) a simple majority vote for the next available spot on the calendar. They’re not dead for the session, but it’s a good sign they will not pass this year.
Memphis will be the corporate public education demolition derby’s armored toe in the door. Once in, the cancer will spread. And even if Tennessee manages to keep these vultures and vampires out of their state, they will not give up. If they don’t get in one way, they will find another ways to sneak in by using behind closed door tactics and bribes.
I heard some people describe TN as the new confederacy.
If the GOP doesn’t win the White House and loses one or both Houses of Congress, expect the South, starting with Texas, to threaten to leave the union.
Will Hillary or Sanders have the strength of Lincoln to fight a second Civil War to preserve the union?
Just to see this would be enough reason to vote for Bernie.
Which side would Gates be on? Judging by his vigorous activities in TN, he may have secret plans to reopen a plantation here to provide a nurturing environment for kids in the lowest 5% and their families.
That nurturing (meant as sarcasm) Gates environment would mean servitude, another word for slavery, for those children. He’d turn them into lab rats against their will. In fact, once New York City runs Eva out on a rail, Gates would hire her, or someone just like her, to manage his plantation.
Exactly. Adding Eva with a whip to the picture is a nice touch.
Nevada’s courts are hearing cases on Nevada’s foray into the abyss. The governor is mad that the first judge to hear the case issued an injunction against giving out any money. The state treasurer admitted his motives were simple, once the money is given out it will be impossible to retrieve it if the law is struck down, making it less likely to strike the law….the judge knew the game too!
On the other hand, we do have a victory: the vote has been postponed indefinitely since the voucher vultures couldn’t get the vote this time around. I believe many of us here in Western TN are grateful to all those who fought this bill by calling various representatives and to Diane for publicizing the struggle.
It’s worth reiterating how crazy (and desperate) this bill was: there was an amendment by a rep called Hawk, who proposed that they start giving vouchers only in Memphis. But Hawk lives at the other end of TN, 450 miles from Memphis! What went through his mind?!
Anyhow, here the report on the nonvote complete with a video.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/11/voucher-bill-stalls-house/80226280/