The legislature’s Republican supermajority left little room for debate, pushing through millions of dollars and sprawling policy changes in a special session that lasted just four days.

Tennessee lawmakers have approved legislation drastically expanding the number of families who can use taxpayer money on private schools regardless of income

In one of the most hotly-contested questions in modern Tennessee political history, the legislature narrowly approved a $430 million private-school voucher program that critics say will grow quickly to $1 billion and endanger the state’s budget.

The new Education Freedom Scholarship program will offer 20,000 scholarships of about $7,300 to Tennessee students to attend a school of their choice.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's bill cleared the state House and Senate and is to be implemented for the 2025-26 school year, using public money to fund private school tuition for up to 20,000 students statewide.