The Tennessee Choice & Opportunity Scholarship Act has been delayed in the House Finance Subcommittee until 2016, in part due to a number of amendments brought forth that members said warranted further discussion.
"This is a disappointing day," said Beacon Center CEO Justin Owen. "Thousands of children will have to wait yet another year to get the quality education they so badly need and deserve.
The Beacon Center will continue to work tirelessly to be a voice for those students.
"We want to thank our allies including the Tennessee Federation for Children and StudentsFirst Tennessee for standing up for educational freedom. We'd also like to thank all the legislators who stood with Tennessee families by voting in support of this bill, and we look forward to working with them again next year to get a school choice program passed in Tennessee once and for all."
Officials of the Tennessee Federation for Children said, "We are deeply grateful to the courageous lawmakers who strongly support giving children in our state more educational opportunity by working to give families school choice," said Tony Niknejad of the Tennessee Federation for Children. "Unfortunately, families that have been begging to get their children out of failing schools will have to wait another year for that chance. However, this important cause for our children – the future of our state – will continue.
"Special interests advocating for the status quo in our education system tried to throw stumbling blocks and resort to gamesmanship at every step of the way, but support for opportunity scholarships has eventually overcome those special interests each time. With 35 lawmakers—more than a third of the legislative body—co-sponsoring this legislation, and many more supporting, we are looking forward to a full House vote next year and remain confident that the momentum will continue and that a targeted school choice program will be passed and signed into law by Governor Haslam."
Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown), who said he10 years ago first introduced legislation to create Opportunity Scholarships for Tennessee students, said, “I am very disappointed that the House Finance Subcommittee was unwilling to take action to help children in the lowest performing schools in our state. This bill would have helped thousands of low income students to receive the quality education they deserve. I will certainly keep pushing for passage of this bill and hope that the House Finance Subcommittee will take a fresh look at it next year.”
State Democratic Party officials said, "The controversial school voucher bill was killed for the year when its Republican sponsor withdrew it from a House of Representatives subcommittee on Tuesday. Knoxville Republican Bill Dunn pulled the bill, (HB1049), from the House Finance Subcommittee because he didn’t have enough votes to pass the legislation.
"The bill would have allowed students to receive public tax dollars to pay for private schools. The failure of the bill to advance follows severe criticism from supporters of public schools. The House Democratic Caucus publically condemned the bill."
Rock Island Rep. Kevin Dunlap, who is also a teacher, said: “Our public schools are the fastest improving in the nation and we shouldn’t diminish their funding when our students and teachers have made such incredible advances.”
He said the bill had already been pulled from consideration once this year, then brought back and several other versions of the legislation had been killed in previous years.
Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart said: “Of all the hare-brained education schemes people are pushing on our schools, vouchers are the worst of all. Tennesseans should thank the subcommittee members who once again ensured that this bill would not see the light of day.”