Senate committee advances bill to double Education Freedom Scholarships to 40,000; lawmakers debate budget impact

The Senate Finance Committee on March 31 recommended passage of Senate Bill 2247, a proposal to expand Tennessee's Education Freedom Scholarship program from 20,000 to 40,000 scholarships for the coming academic year.

Leader Johnson, who moved the bill, said the program has been "a tremendous success," noting 38,000 applications in the first 24 hours when the program opened last year. "The governor is proposing that we increase the number of scholarships available...by 20,000 so it would effectively double the program," he said.

Committee members questioned the budgetary mechanics and long‑term costs. Senator Hensley asked why the program could not be funded through the existing TISA formula rather than by recurring, designated scholarship dollars. "We put $150,000,000 in last year. This another $155,000,000. That's over $300,000,000 going forward," she said, expressing concern about paying twice for students while holding local schools harmless. Senator Yarbrough and others pressed on distributional effects and whether the program mainly benefited higher‑income families in some districts.

Leader Johnson and supporters said the legislation retains a funding floor to hold LEAs harmless in cases of net disenrollment and argued the program expands genuine parental choice. "A student in Davidson County who leaves and takes a scholarship of $7,375...the local taxpayers are experiencing a significant windfall," he said, urging the committee to consider the broader fiscal math.

After debate the committee voted and recommended SB 2247 as amended for passage to the calendar. Members asked staff and the Department of Education for further detail on the formula mechanics and long‑term cost projections as the bill moves forward.

Status: SB 2247 as amended was recommended for passage to the committee on the calendar.