The anti-school choice crowd just got some horrible news – especially in Tennessee.
A majority of voters support Gov. Bill Lee’s school choice plan, according to a new poll published by The Beacon Center of Tennessee.
The proposed legislation would expand Education Savings Accounts (ESA) that allow parents to use funding toward alternative educational options such as private schools, tutors, and others. It would also expand the school voucher program.
The bill includes $20,000 in scholarships of $7,075 each that could be used for tuition, fees or other education expenses.
Half of the scholarships would go to students below 300% of income, which qualifies them for free or reduced lunches, students with disabilities or those who are eligible for the current school choice plan. Three counties – Shelby, Davidson and Hamilton – already participate in a school choice pilot program.
Every year, 5,000 scholarships with universal eligibility will be added after 75% of the previous year’s scholarships are awarded.
The bill also includes a $2,000 bonus for teachers. Starting teacher pay would increase to $47,000 a year, beginning with the 2025-26 school year. The increase would rank Tennessee’s teacher salaries as the 16th highest in the nation.
In addition, 80% of sports wagering dollars would be dedicated to maintaining K-12 public school facilities, particularly in distressed counties.
The poll found that 67 percent of voters either “somewhat” or “strongly” support the program, while only 13 percent “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose it. About 20 percent indicated they had no opinion or were not sure how they felt about the proposed measure.
Even further, about 57 percent indicated they would be more likely to vote for their state legislator if they supported “expanding educational choice to all families across Tennessee.” About 12 percent of respondents indicated supporting this measure would make them less likely to support the candidate while 23 percent indicated it would not influence their votes either way.
Researchers also found that 61 percent of Tennessee voters supported the expansion of charter schools, which the poll defined as “public schools that operate independently from local school boards and are governed by their own boards of directors.”
Nevertheless, there are still those who oppose the notion that parents should decide where and how their children are educated. Some argue that such a program would take critical funding from government-run schools, which could affect the quality of education.
"We see it as a potential that public schools could get funding cut, and that means that it will hurt students who are the most vulnerable. And so that's the danger that we're in there," said JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, who also claimed there isn’t much demand for expanding school vouchers.
The results of this survey seem to prove Bowman wrong – as well as others who contend that the state should make these important decisions about how children are educated. Michael Lotfi, deputy director of the Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity, told Townhall, “Beacon uses one of the most reputable, non-partisan pollsters around, so you can take the results to the bank.”
Lotfi suggested that this poll is one of several showing overwhelming support for school choice. “Republican lawmakers especially need to be paying attention because I personally wouldn't want to find myself on the other side of an issue like school choice where Elon Musk, Vice President J.D. Vance & President Trump all agree it's past time to put parents back in control of their child's education via school choice,” he said.
I look forward to debating school choice with "DOCTOR" Duncan from @TCSPublic schools on @mattmurphyshow. I hope she's ready to answer for the fact that 64% of grades 3-5, 66% of grades 6-8, & 73% of grades 9-12 are FAILING to meet basic math, science, English, & social studies… pic.twitter.com/NFxiqYg11l
— Michael Lotfi (@MichaelLotfi) January 6, 2025
The bottom line is that the more parents are empowered to make educational decisions, the better the system will function. Government-run schools do not necessarily have the level of accountability to ensure that they are properly educating students.
When administrators know they will get the same level of funding regardless of their performance, there is little incentive to ensure they are doing right by Tennessee’s children. It is one of several reasons why education in America is severely lacking.
School choice cultivates a more competitive environment in which institutions must prove their worth to parents looking for options. Free market principles have shown that when industries have more competition, it benefits the consumer, and the institutions involved.
Unfortunately, Democrats and Republicans in several states are working hard to ensure school choice measures are not passed. Many of these lawmakers are deep in the pockets of teachers unions, which abhor the notion that government-run schools might have to step up their game if they want parents to trust them with their children.
This is why people must pay close attention to what their state governments are doing. With the presidential election concluded, perhaps more people will focus less on federal issues and take more time to hold their state and local officials accountable – especially when it comes to education.