UPDATE: Another Tennessee House of Representatives committee recommended expanding the state’s Education Freedom Scholarship program. However, the bill no longer includes an immigration tracking requirement.
House Bill 2532 still seeks to expand the state’s school vouchers from 20,000 to 35,000, while Senate Bill 2247 seeks to expand that number to 40,000.
The House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee recommended the bill for passage on April 7 in an 18-10 vote. It now heads to the House Calendar and Rules Committee.
The school vouchers allow families to use public funds for private education, and the bill seeks to expand that program.
In 2025, lawmakers included a provision in the Education Freedom Scholarship that allowed public schools to continue receiving public funds if they experienced disenrollment. The House’s previous amendment would only provide the funding to schools based on the students’ citizenship status. The new version has removed that amendment.
PREVIOUS STORY: Tennessee lawmakers are still moving forward with a bill that would increase the size of the state’s Education Freedom Scholarship. However, the House’s recent amendment to the bill would factor in immigration status.
The House recommended the passage of House Bill 2532 if amended.
The school vouchers allow families to use public funds for private education, and the bill seeks to expand that program.
In 2025, lawmakers included a provision in the Education Freedom Scholarship that allowed public schools to continue receiving public funds if they experienced disenrollment.
The House’s amendment states that, going forward, public schools would only receive that funding if their disenrolled students are in one of the following categories:
A citizen of the United States
In the process of obtaining U.S. citizenship
Holds a valid legal immigration or visa status
Subject to pending immigration proceedings in which a final order of removal has not been issued
In the 2027-2028 school year, the amendment will only apply to public school systems that had previously received funding under this provision.
HB 2532 aims to expand the school voucher program from 20,000 to 40,000. However, a House amendment seeks to drop that expansion down to 35,000.
NBC affiliate WSMV reports that the lawmakers want to reduce the expansion to lower the program’s cost to taxpayers.
While both versions of the bill have passed in committees, the two chambers now have different versions of the bill. The Senate’s version still increases the number of vouchers to 40,000 and does not include this amendment.
The bill has been placed on the House’s Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for April 7, 2026.
If passed, the changes would go into effect for the 2026-2027 school year.