A new state report shows that students enrolled in Tennessee’s voucher program are underperforming compared to their peers in public schools.
The Education Savings Account launched in 2019 after lawmakers narrowly passed the program as a pilot approach on vouchers. It allows families to use state funds to defray the cost of private school. The award amount for the 2025-2026 school year is a little less than $10,000 for students living in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties.
Gov. Bill Lee lauded the vouchers as a means for families to escape low-performing public schools. But a report from the Tennessee comptroller shows that most students in the program transferred from schools with average or above-average rankings…