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Tennessee House and Senate education committees passed the governor鈥檚 private-school voucher program Tuesday,聽speeding the $450 million first-year expense to final votes before week鈥檚 end.

Senators voted 8-1 to send the measure to the finance committee to be considered Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, a Franklin Republican carrying the bill for Gov. Bill Lee, told lawmakers the plan will 鈥渆mpower families to do something for their kid, fulfilling needs we鈥檙e not meeting with this public school system that we run together with our local folks.鈥�

Johnson claimed a mandate to pass the measure from President Donald Trump, who posted on his Truth Social platform earlier that he supports Tennessee lawmakers鈥� efforts to adopt 鈥渟chool choice.鈥�

鈥淚t is our goal to bring education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before,鈥� Trump said in his post.

Lee鈥檚 plan, which is zooming toward final votes in a special session this week, calls for providing more than $7,000 each to 20,000 students statewide and then expanding by about 5,000 annually. Half of those students in the first year could come from families with incomes at 300% of the federal poverty level, an estimated $175,000 for a family of four, while the rest would have no income limit. No maximum income would be placed on the program after the first year.

A financial analysis by the state鈥檚 Fiscal Review Committee determined K-12 schools will lose $45 million and that only $3.3 million would go toward 12 school districts most likely to lose students.

Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari of Memphis was the lone vote against the bill as she urged the committee to 鈥渆xercise a bit more caution.鈥� Akbari reminded senators that students participating in the state鈥檚 education savings account program, which provides vouchers to enroll in private schools in Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby counties, are performing worse academically than their peers.

In contrast, Republican Sen. Adam Lowe of Calhoun said standardized tests shouldn鈥檛 be the deciding factor in passing the bill. Lowe also told Hawkins County Schools Director Matt Hixson he shouldn鈥檛 be worried about talk that some local leaders in upper East Tennessee believe they have to support the voucher bill or the legislature could refuse to approve $420 million for Hurricane Helene disaster relief.

The House panel endorsed the plan on a 17-7 vote after Republican lawmakers used a procedural move to bypass debate on the bill. Rep. Jake McCalmon of Williamson County called for an immediate vote following public testimony, backed by Rep. William Slater of Sumner County. The move kept opponents from questioning the bill鈥檚 sponsor, House Majority Leader William Lamberth.

Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville called the move 鈥渞idiculous鈥� afterward because of the impact the bill could have on public schools and the state鈥檚 budget.

In addition to complaining that the state will be running two school systems and likely hitting financial problems, Johnson challenged Lamberth鈥檚 assertion that the bill will make public schools 鈥渨hole鈥� when they lose students to the private-school voucher program.

Lamberth, though, said public schools would not lose 鈥渙ne red cent鈥� as a result of the program.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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