(The Center House) – The Tennessee House Finance Ways and Means Committee agreed Tuesday to a smaller increase in Education Freedom Scholarships than proposed by Gov. Bill Lee.
The amended version of House Bill 2532 would add 15,000 new scholarships for the 2026-27 school year, 5,000 fewer than the 20,000 Lee included in the fiscal 2027 budget.
The original law automatically allowed an additional 5,000, bringing the House recommendation to 35,000, as opposed to Lee’s 40,000. The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee approved Lee’s proposal, which doubles the scholarships from 20,000 to 40,000.
Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, also amended the bill to remove a requirement that school districts could recoup student enrollment losses only if they could demonstrate that the students were lawful U.S. residents.
“This ensures that no public school will lose one red cent of money because of the Education Freedom Scholarship Program,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland, the bill’s primary sponsor. “It does not come from public funding, which is going to go up if we approve the suggested budget from the governor this year by $340 million plus.”
The amended bill also requires an annual report on scholarship recipients, including their county of residence, whether they were in a public school when they applied, and their annual household income.
All of the committee Democrats voted against the bill and were joined by Republicans Mark Cochran of Englewood, David Hawk of Greenville and Gary Hicks of Rogersville. Collierville Republican Kevin Vaughan was present but did not vote.
Applications for the $7,530 Education Freedom Scholarships increased significantly in the program’s second year. More than 56,000 students applied for the 2026-27 school year, while more than 38,000 applied for the 2025-26 school year, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.
Lee is using social media to show his support for expanding it to 40,000.
“Education Freedom Scholarships have seen soaring demand and served thousands of families in the program’s first year,” Lee wrote on social media Tuesday. “Now, we have the opportunity to expand the program, growing the total number of seats to 40,000.”
