Senator promotes education spending account plan, says it's not a voucher bill

Tennessee lawmakers are hoping to expand an education spending account program to the state's more than 950,000 students statewide.

The expansion would funnel millions away from districts across the state.

Senate Bill 395, introduced by Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, seeks to expand access to a program currently limited to disabled students whose families decide not to enroll in an area public school.

The bill would open up the program to all of the state's students. An official estimate says the program would funnel as much as $71 million away from school districts by its second year.

"The principle behind this is that parents have the first obligation to educate the student," Gresham said. "It is not a school choice bill, it is a parental choice bill. It is not a voucher bill."

Gresham's education spending account bill was one of three to be heard Wednesday by the Senate Education Committee focused on providing public funds for private use or institutions. The other two bills are solely school voucher programs, which are publicly funded scholarships for private school.

Wayne Miller, Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents executive director, said that although Gresham's proposal isn't a voucher by name, it is a voucher in impact.

"The money in Gresham's bill would come off the backs of other students. School systems don't have a lot of money that they're not using," he said.

Gresham's bill, which was delayed a week in the committee, provides money by funneling state dollars that would normally be used by districts to educate that student and placing those funds into spending accounts for parents.

Gresham's bill seeks to create the "Empowerment Scholarship Account Act," which would do almost the same for every family statewide as the limited program.

The bill says it will provide spending accounts in which families can use the money for education expenses, including therapy, tutoring or books. While not a traditional school voucher program, it does allow families to spend dollars provided by the state for services such as private schools.

To be eligible, families would need to also decline to enroll in their area public school. Students also would need to take a state or national standardized test to help keep track of student progress.

The program would give preference to students whose families are in the military, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or who are foster kids.

"What the bill does is creates a program that allows parents to customize their student's educational experience," Gresham said.

Of the other voucher proposals, the Senate committee passed through one on Wednesday. Another was delayed.

The bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee was introduced by Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown. The bill would create a pilot school voucher program and moved on with an amendment that mirrors one passed on Tuesday in a House education subcommittee.

The amendment focuses the bill on Shelby County Schools and creates a pilot program that would be studied over five years.

The second voucher bill, which was delayed, would create a school voucher program statewide that would make eligible students zoned at schools that are in the bottom 5 percent of schools in overall academic achievement. The bill, whose main House sponsor is Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, says students who participate also must be eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

While House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee Chairman Mark White, R-Memphis, said the House education committee is searching for one voucher bill that can be supported this session, Gresham said the voucher bills heard in the Senate aren't mutually exclusive.

"We can pass out all (from the committee) and have students benefit," Gresham said.

Read more:

Kelsey's school voucher bill passes first hurdle in House subcommittee

Kelsey files school voucher bill focused mostly on Memphis

Bill Dunn's Tennessee school voucher bill resurfaces

Meanwhile, the limited Individualized Education Account program has been used by 35 students statewide in its first 10 weeks.

Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman Sara Gast said those students are either being home-schooled or are enrolled in a private school of their choice. Nine schools are participating in the program.

How the money is being spent isn't available at this time, Gast said. Families will submit quarterly expense reports starting this spring and the department will share more information on spending in an annual report, which the state anticipates will be available in January, after the first full year, Gast said.

"We will conduct quarterly, annual and random IEA account reviews to ensure taxpayers' funding is spent in accordance with the program requirements, and we plan on sharing as much detailed information as possible about how funds are being spent," she said. "The only reason we would not provide a certain level of detail in that information is because we are legally and ethically required to protect students' privacy under FERPA."

FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is the federal law that prohibits educational agencies from disclosing personally identifiable information from student records without prior consent from parents. Personally identifiable information does not just include students' names but also includes any information that could identify a student or the services a student receives, Gast said.

Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com or on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.