The top agenda item for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in the 2024 legislative session is to expand the Education Savings Account program — also known as school vouchers — from three of 95 counties to the entire state.
The proposal has numerous proponents in the GOP-dominated Tennessee General Assembly, including top leaders, but it remains controversial among teachers, advocates and school superintendents who fear it will be at the expense of public schools.
On Episode 388 of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Gini Pupo-Walker, executive director of The Education Trust — Tennessee , spoke about this and other important education issues.
Pupo-Walker has worked for public schools, served in a nonprofit leadership role and was elected to a term on the Nashville School Board prior to taking on her current position.
The topics we discussed, in addition to school vouchers, were what it means to “fully fund” public schools, the school-to-workforce pipeline, and the threats of censorship, book banning, and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in K-12 and/or higher education.