- Andrea Williams is an opinion columnist for The Tennessean and curator of the Black Tennessee Voices initiative.
As expected, Gov. Bill Lee spent a portion of his State of the State address discussing his plan to expand that the state’s school choice program. He wants to invest another $141 million into the program, eventually making the taxpayer-funded vouchers available to families across the state, regardless of income.
Lee believes that school choice is the best way to ensure every child in Tennessee has access to the best education possible. He asserts that public schools are still valuable, but opponents argue that the measure will de-fund already struggling schools and lead to worse outcomes. They also point to results from school districts in other states with expanded voucher programs to back their claims.
It’s a contentious topic, with both sides claiming to care about the best interest of the students involved. Yet as the debate heats up, it’s not hard to see that the students are the ones losing most of all.