Governor Bill Lee is determined to enact universal vouchers in Tennessee, and it ought to be a slam-dunk since Republicans control both houses of the legislature. He tried and failed before, because some rural Republican legislators opposed vouchers.
But the billionaire money behind vouchers make them tough to resist, so Governor Lee is making vouchers his top priority this session.
As Marta Aldrich explains in Chalkbeat Tennessee, Governor Lee
Diane Ravitch's blog 
At least there is some provision to protect public school budgets from being plundered. Lee plans to reimburse school districts for any funding they stand to lose when a student leaves to take a voucher and go to a private school, and he has set up a fund that is separate from the general public school fund to pay for vouchers. The result will still likely legitimize and fund “white flight academies” in Tennessee.
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Within two years, the hold-harmless provisions will be gone.
Don’t believe promises that public schools won’t be hurt by vouchers.
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At least Lee has included some funding to somewhat shelter public school budgets from total plunder during the first year. However, his proposal will not protect public schools when his separate fund is depleted. These vouchers will likely fund students so they can attend a “white flight Christian academy,” but they offer no long term support for public education. While accountability is supposed to be a conservative principle, Lee’s proposal does not require private schools to follow the same accountability standards as public schools.
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Gov. Lee is running TV advertisements in favor of vouchers, and he uses “civil rights” style language in support of his so-called “Education Freedom Act.” It just might pass this time because they got rid of several Republicans who opposed it and replaced them other Republicans who are expected to support it. Of course, none of this would pass (even in TN) if it were put to a voter referendum.
The proposed voucher would function more like a “rebate” or “discount” for those who can already afford it. There’s no way poor families in middle TN would be able to afford the rest of the tuition after the voucher. Here are tuition examples in middle TN that the $7,075 would go toward:
Ensworth School
$30,310 (K-5)
$36,880 (6-8)
$40,240 (9-12)
Harding Academy
$18,000 (Pre-K)
$25,330 (K-5)
$28,270 (6-8)
Harpeth Hall (all girls)
$36,240 (5-8)
$36,750 (9-12)
Montgomery Bell Academy (all boys)
$37,250 (7-12)
Nashville Christian School
$13,216 – $15,315 (K-12)
Overbook Catholic School:
17,315 (K-6)
St. Anne Catholic School:
$13,750 (K-8)
$11,000 if active member of the school’s church parish
St. Cecilia Academy (Catholic – all girls):
$19,900 Jr. High
$22,800 High School
St. Henry Catholic School:
$8,589 (K-8)
St. Matthew Catholic School:
$11,790 (K-8)
$9,430 if active member of the school’s church parish
Father Ryan High School
$25,415 (9-12)
Pope John Paul II Preparatory School
$14,550 (Middle School)
$19,850 (High School)
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