NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee lawmakers are considering legislation that would expand the number of Education Freedom Scholarships available to students across the state. The scholarships are widely known as vouchers to attend private school.
HB 2532 and its companion bill in the state Senate would increase the maximum number of scholarships that may be awarded in the 2026 – 2027 school year from 25,000 to 40,000 across the state.
Education Freedom Scholarships allow eligible Tennessee families to use state education funds to attend participating private schools rather than public schools.
This legislation would also direct the governor to add Tennessee to the federal education tax credit program. This falls under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump.
In his final State of the State Address, Gov. Bill Lee called for an expansion of the program. Lee said he hopes the program will allow more families to have freedom when it comes to education.
“I’m certainly hopeful that Education Freedom Scholarships are available to a lot more Tennessee families,” Lee said.
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem D – Chattanooga said that he voted against the legislation in committee due to the impact that it can have on students across the state.
“I had to think about the best interest of the students,” Hakeem said.
Hakeem also voted against the original legislation last year before it was signed into law. He does not see anything stopping the bill from moving forward in the Republican supermajority.
The bill now heads to the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee after advancing out of the Education Committee. The committee will review the fiscal impact of the bill and the availability of funds for the state sponsored scholarships.
Rep. Greg Vital R – Harrison said lawmakers will likely find the funds needed to support the expansion despite the budget concerns.
“Even though it is a tighter year, they will find the money,” Vital said.
Some Republicans in rural districts received some push back from their voters for supporting the bill since they do not live in areas with ready access to private schools compared to other cities and towns. Vital believes families deserve the choice to send their child somewhere they can succeed.
“Public schools have in some ways let our students down,” Vital said.
Gov. Lee said the legislation is popular with state voters.
“It responds to the desire of the expansion,” he said.
This story is part of week long news coverage of the TN General Assembly by the UT-Chattanooga PULSE Project.
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