Since we last talked about school vouchers back in fall 2022, the state legislature and governor have made major steps toward making them a reality for all Tennesseeans. Right now, there are bills on the table in the House and Senate that would give over $7000 per student against their private school tuition— regardless of whether they were ever even enrolled in  public school. Some are calling this a subsidy for the rich, and some are saying vouchers will make private school more accessible for low and middle class families. We’ll talk today with lawmakers, parents, advocates, and reporters to understand this legislation. We will also turn to national perspectives on what has happened in states like Vermont and Arizona with their respective voucher programs— and see what we can learn from them.

This episode was produced by Elizabeth Burton. Special thanks to WPLN’s Alexis Marshall, Austin Sauerbrei, Ken Jobe, Katherine Ceicys, and Marta Aldrich at Chalkbeat.

Guests:

Follow this link for further reading: https://wpln.org/post/episodes/whats-going-on-with-school-vouchers/