NASHVILLE— Nationally recognized education policy expert Dr. Josh Cowen will address the media with a presentation on vouchers this Wednesday, January 22nd. He will later appear at a town hall meeting with State Senator Heidi Campbell and State Representatives Bob Freeman and Caleb Hemmer. Dr. Cowen is a professor of education policy at Michigan State University and a respected author on topics related to education politics, school choice and culture wars in the United States. His latest book is The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers. The book is described as a deep-dive investigation of education privatization that reveals voucher programs as the faulty products of decades of work by wealthy patrons and influential conservatives. Senator Campbell says, “Dr. Cowen’s work reveals the devastating consequences of voucher schemes: skyrocketing taxpayer costs, declining student outcomes, tax subsidies for wealthy families, and the rise of unregulated, subprime private schools chasing public dollars.”
Dr. Cowen will address the media at 2:30 pm in the Cordell Hull press conference room. Rep. Hemmer says it’s an opportunity to take advantage of the extensive investigative work Cowen has done on the subject: “We are fortunate that a leading expert on this topic like Dr. Cowen is willing to come to Tennessee and share his non-partisan, evidence-based worldview on why vouchers are a scam.”
Later that evening, the lawmakers will host Dr. Cowen at a Town Hall on Education in Tennessee at the Green Hills Public Library, 3701 Benham Ave (see attached flyer). “Tennesseans deserve policies that strengthen public education, not dismantle it for profit,” Campbell added. This town hall is a critical opportunity for the public to get the facts and fight back against Gov. Lee’s harmful voucher scam.” The meeting will last from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
