By Senator Charlane Oliver
There’s an old slogan used in activism: “Nothing about us, without us, is for us.” This truth applies to Governor Lee’s school voucher proposal being rushed through a special session.
Tennessee’s public education system is under siege by wealthy conservative oligarchs like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who are bankrolling Republican leaders to push school vouchers. Ultra-wealthy conservatives have made dismantling public education their mission, even descending upon Washington ready to disband the U.S. Department of Education.
For the sake of our children and future children, we must declare public education the human rights issue of our time. Defunding public schools threatens our democratic society for generations.
As a product of zoned public schools, a mother of three attending Metro Nashville public schools, and the daughter of a 33-year veteran special education teacher, I’m writing to forewarn parents, educators, and taxpayers that Governor Lee’s proposed $400 million school voucher plan is a scam.
Vouchers are a direct assault on public schools, creating a two-tiered education system that siphons your hard-earned tax dollars away from the schools serving the majority of our Black, brown, poor and disabled children and funneling them into private schools that are unaccountable and inaccessible to most of us.
For starters, the proposal would bankrupt our state budget, dismantle public education, and erode our state’s ability to pay for essential public services, such as child care, roads, foster care and disaster relief. Look at Indiana and Arizona, red states with universal school vouchers. Arizona faced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall in 2024, and Indiana diverted nearly $1 billion from public school spending to private schools that educate less than 10 percent of their student population.
With book bans in effect and restrictions on teaching about race, gender, and sexuality, vouchers don’t ensure culturally competent curriculums that affirm all children’s cultural identities. Instead, private schools can impose religious indoctrination and discriminatory practices.
Additionally, vouchers don’t guarantee higher academic achievement scores or educational support services. Tennessee’s own ESA pilot program data shows private schools underperforming compared to public schools.
Perhaps the most damning aspect of the Republicans’ proposal is that rural parents will be footing the bill for children in Tennessee’s largest counties to attend private schools, while 51 of Tennessee’s 95 counties have no private school options. So much for ‘school choice.’
So, who does Lee’s voucher plan really benefit?
I don’t care what Governor Lee calls it – Education Freedom Act, Education Savings Act, ESAs, or School Choice. It is welfare for the wealthy, an entitlement program for affluent families whose children already attend private schools.
Under the plan, Republicans are promising $7,075 vouchers for 20,000 students, with the first 10,000 reserved for families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL)—that’s over $170,000 annually for a family of four. For context, the income limit for SNAP benefits (i.e. food stamps) is just 130% FPL. The remaining 10,000 vouchers would be available to any students, regardless of income or disabilities. News flash: Wealthy families get first dibs.
Let’s call it what it is: ‘School choice’ is school segregation by another name, born from Lee Atwater’s Southern Strategy—using coded language to disguise racist policies. After Brown v. Board of Education, white families, driven by fears of integrated schools, fled urban neighborhoods en masse – a phenomenon known as ‘white flight’ – when Black families moved in. The mass exodus of white families to the suburbs created racially segregated school districts where suburban schools remained predominantly white and better funded, effectively circumventing Brown v. Board of Education and its promise of equal educational opportunities.
No matter how Republicans rebrand it, vouchers are still fundamentally immoral and unjust—like putting lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig.
Most Tennessee parents value their public schools and want a quality education for their children. That’s why the school voucher scheme is a cause where poor and working class folks–whether Black, white, urban or rural–stand united in our opposition across Tennessee.
Before my colleagues and I head into a special session on January 27, I urge you to reject the false promises of school vouchers and instead demand full funding for public schools.
State Senator Charlane Oliver proudly represents Tennessee’s 19th Senatorial District, which includes part of Davidson County.
