Kaleb Sy grew up in north Memphis and attended a public elementary school in which, he says, his teachers “took the rags they were given” and “made daily education miracles.”
Sy has since graduated with honors from East High and is currently a freshman at Columbia University on a pre-law track. He also recently wrote about his educational experience — and his opposition to the expansion of Governor Bill Lee’s school voucher program — for the Tennessean.
“I argue that this bill is to appease Christian evangelicals across the state to maintain the Republican supermajority in the state legislature,” Sy wrote. “The only people who win out of this are private school headmasters at the expense of the integrity of our public education system.”
Even before heading into this current legislative session, we knew the expansion of Lee’s voucher plan (known officially as the Tennessee Education Savings Account, or ESA) would be a primary focus for politicians and citizens alike.
This school year, children who were zoned for schools in Metro Nashville, Memphis-Shelby County and Hamilton County and met other qualifications, including financial need, were eligible to receive around $9,000 to be spent on tuition, books, and other expenses at a list of approved private schools. Over the next two years, Lee wants to expand the program, ultimately arriving at universal eligibility and the option to use voucher funds for homeschool expenses.