The Tennessee Senate on Thursday passed school choice legislation that would allow low-income students in failing schools to use vouchers.
If enacted, the bill in its first year would issue vouchers to as many as 5,000 income-eligible students in the bottom five percent of schools in Tennessee.
Kara Kerwin, president of The Center for Education Reform, said, "Efforts to create a voucher program are part of a broader trend going on right now in Tennessee to introduce educational options through multiple avenues of innovation.
"Whether it's instituting a program to give low-income students a better chance at success, facilitating the state charter school sector or allowing parents to petition for change in schools, Tennessee lawmakers are well on their way towards allowing for better educational options to flourish."