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Gov. Invoice Lee signed Tennessee’s common college voucher invoice into legislation Wednesday, formally kicking off the state’s push to roll out this system this yr for as much as 20,000 college students.
With solely about six months till the brand new college yr, the state has so much to do earlier than eligible households can obtain taxpayer funding to ship their kids to personal faculties.
The state Board of Schooling should develop and approve guidelines for Lee’s Schooling Freedom Scholarship Program. As an example, how can households attraction if the state denies them a voucher?
Tennessee’s training division must workers up — a projected 11 new positions — to supervise this system.
And maybe most urgent, Lee’s administration should determine whether or not to hunt a brand new vendor to automate software and fee processes for the statewide program, or use its present vendor, Indiana-based Pupil First Applied sciences, which manages the state’s two present smaller college voucher packages.
As a result of the state’s 2023 contract with Pupil First requires the corporate to accommodate at the least 20,000 customers, the legislature’s monetary analysts assumed the state would use Pupil First for the statewide program too.
However Lee mentioned Wednesday that no choice has been made a couple of vendor, and he wouldn’t commit to making sure that the state training division seeks aggressive bids if it decides to pursue a brand new firm.
“I’ll defer to the division on the procurement course of,” he instructed reporters after signing the invoice.
Final month, after the voucher invoice handed throughout a particular legislative session, the governor’s spokeswoman mentioned the state was exploring its choices.
“Whereas now we have had success with Pupil First Applied sciences, … our crew has met with numerous skilled distributors to learn the way different states have carried out common college alternative packages efficiently,” mentioned Elizabeth L. Johnson, Lee’s press secretary.
Tennessee bypassed the market chief when selecting its first voucher vendor
In 2023, Tennessee raised eyebrows by signing a $3.675 million, five-year contract with Pupil First, a younger firm with a small workers, modest money movement, and no state-level expertise managing training financial savings accounts.
The contract was signed after a aggressive bid course of, and after the state failed to succeed in phrases with Florida-based ClassWallet, Tennessee’s first option to run its training financial savings account program for Davidson, Hamilton, and Shelby counties, in addition to a smaller voucher program for college students with disabilities. Inside a yr, Pupil First launched its digital platforms in Tennessee.
However a number of different states utilizing Pupil First say the corporate has not stored up with demand as non-public college voucher packages have expanded nationally.
Final fall, Arkansas terminated its Pupil First contract after the corporate failed to satisfy deadlines and created defective platforms, in keeping with that state’s training division.
In West Virginia, which awarded Pupil First a $10 million contract to handle purchases and funds for its training financial savings accounts, the system struggled to maintain up as enrollment climbed.
Tennessee’s training division has not fulfilled Chalkbeat’s public data request, submitted final June, to examine correspondence and different paperwork that will present how Pupil First platforms have carried out, together with the 1000’s of transactions that the corporate manages on behalf of the state with ESA individuals.
Mark Duran, the corporate’s founder and chief govt officer, didn’t reply Wednesday to Chalkbeat’s request for remark.
In the meantime, different firms within the school-choice market are all in favour of pursuing a brand new contract for Tennessee’s statewide program, together with ClassWallet, which scored highest within the 2023 aggressive bid course of and at the moment has voucher contracts with 12 states.
“ClassWallet would welcome the chance to convey our mission to Tennessee and maximize the affect of faculty alternative for households and college students there,” Jamie Rosenberg, the corporate’s founder and CEO, instructed Chalkbeat.
He added that ClassWallet has expertise and capability to launch a state-level training financial savings account program in a matter of weeks.
“Households inform states that our software program is easy and simple to make use of,” he mentioned Wednesday.
Governor is assured of a 2025 launch
Voucher opponents criticized Lee for together with his proposal in a particular legislative session in late January that additionally addressed catastrophe assist and immigration insurance policies. However Lee argued that passage in early 2025 could be essential to launch the voucher program in time for the upcoming college yr.
After signing the invoice Wednesday, Lee mentioned he instructed Schooling Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds to “get began on implementation.”
He wouldn’t converse in regards to the particulars of a rollout, however mentioned he’s assured of a 2025 launch.
“You’ve acquired to recollect, we have already got an training financial savings account plan in place on this state for our three largest college districts, so now we have some experience inside the division in implement this plan,” Lee instructed reporters.
Whereas no timeline was instantly accessible, the division must open the appliance window quickly to find out which non-public faculties will take part. Then comes the appliance window for households who need entry to the vouchers, which offer about $7,200 towards the price of non-public training providers.
“We’ll accomplice with the State Board of Schooling as they promulgate guidelines and are collaborating with the state’s Central Procurement Workplace to discover all choices to implement this system in compliance with state procurement legal guidelines and guidelines,” mentioned division spokesman Brian Blackley.
Additionally at difficulty: How will the state verify authorized residency for collaborating college students?
Whereas the initiative is touted as a “common” program for anybody in Tennessee — the household revenue limits disappear after the primary yr — Republican leaders included a provision within the legislation saying the state training division “shall deny” any college voucher software from households that “can not set up the eligible pupil’s lawful presence in america.”
The availability seems to battle with a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court docket ruling that requires states to supply public education schemes to all kids, no matter their immigration standing. The Tennessee program pays for private-school training, nevertheless it makes use of public funds.
“What’s most vital to know,” Lee instructed reporters, “is that this language doesn’t change something in regards to the state’s obligation because it at the moment stands to coach kids.
“However for this scholarship,” he added, “it’s solely accessible to Tennessee residents.”
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.