School board member voices concerns over TN’s newly proposed scholarship act

JACKSON, Tenn. — Governor Bill Lee proposed the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Act Wednesday, that could allow students the choice to go to any school.

The Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Act is said to give 20,000 scholarships of $7,000 per student, in the first year.

Half of those scholarships will go to students who attend public schools and the other half to disadvantaged students.

Public school officials have questions about the program.

“The things are, how are we going to administer it? How is that money going to come in from the state with the 20,000 students that they say are going to be on the first year? That’s about 140 million dollars a year,” said Jackson Madison County School System school board member Sherry Franks, District 5 Position 1.

Franks also has concerns about students receiving the education they need and what this means for the future.

“What happens to parents who are given this funding? And the program is not filtered through to make sure it’s hitting the correct curriculum, and they go 1-2 years and somebody finds out they are not getting the education that they deserve, and they go back into a private or a public school system? How do we accommodate that, because they’re going to be two years behind?” Franks questioned.

There are also questions about how to know what students need in the future.

“When you take the money out of the system and give it away, are you going to be able to service the kids at the same level that you were able to prior to the money being dispersed?” Franks said.

The act has not yet been approved by state legislature.

SEE ALSO: Gov. Lee introduces act that could allow students to attend any school they choose