With Gov. Lee’s Signature, Tennessee Will Become 13th State To Enact Universal School Choice

During a legislative special session on Thursday, the Tennessee Senate passed the Education Freedom Act of 2025 by a vote of 20 to 13. The bill had passed the House 54 to 44 earlier in the day. It now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature. With the stroke of Gov. Bill Lee’s pen, Tennessee will become the 13th state in the nation to enact universal (or near-universal) school choice.

While it’s not official yet, there is no question regarding whether Gov. Lee will sign the bill into law. He has been an enthusiastic education freedom champion and called the Tennessee General Assembly for a special session with the purpose of passing the Education Freedom Act. Last month, Gov. Lee said, “When it comes to education, more freedom is what our children need to succeed. That means empowering parents with school choice…. that’s why we need to pass the Education Freedom Act in Tennessee.”

According to Gov. Lee, “Education has the power to change the trajectory of a child’s life, and every Tennessee child deserves to attend the school that fits their unique needs — regardless of income or zip code.”

The Tennessee Education Freedom website explains, “The Education Freedom Act will extend school choice to every family across rural and urban Tennessee, putting parents at the forefront of their child’s education so that students find the best school for their needs to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

The education scholarship amount will equal the state base funding amount per student, which is around $7,000. The funds can be used toward private school tuition and fees. If funds remain, they can be allocated toward required school textbooks, curricula, instructional materials, uniforms, tutoring services, school transportation fees, educational technology, test fees, early postsecondary courses, and educational therapies for qualifying students. Under this act, students must be enrolled in a private school to participate.

The universal school choice program will be implemented in two steps. During the 2025-2026 school year, 20,000 scholarships will be available for students, with half of those directed toward students from households at or below 300% of the income for free or reduced-price lunch, students with a disability, or those already eligible for an existing Tennessee education savings account program. All students statewide are eligible to participate starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

Beyond the private school scholarships, the Education Freedom Act also includes a $2,000 bonus for all 86,000 public school teachers in the state.

Despite cries from the opposition, the school choice program will not harm public school finances. According to Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland) on the House floor on Thursday, Tennessee will continue to spend $7 billion annually on K-12 public education.

Thanks to Gov. Lee’s steadfast commitment to education freedom for Tennesseans, the parents of more than 900,000 K-12 public school children and over 115,000 private school students will soon be empowered with school choice.

Tennessee will join the universal school choice ranks with Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia.

Now, eyes turn to Texas as well as Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming. With a Republican trifecta in each of these states, it’s time for their lawmakers to advance universal education freedom. 

As education freedom states reap the far-reaching academic, workforce development, economic, and societal benefits of a free market K-12 education environment, other states will be forced to take notice. Lawmakers in those states will have to decide if they will double down with the teacher unions in trapping children in failing schools — to the detriment of their state’s future — or empower the parents. By advancing laws that allow education funding to follow students, lawmakers will support parents and the general public, who, by majority, support school choice.

With each state to pass universal school choice, the tide is turning toward a better and brighter future for America because nothing will impact the future of our country more than the education of the next generation.

So, which state will be number 14? Republican governors, it’s time to rally your lawmakers toward education freedom victory.

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Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.