Tennessee and Nevada School voucher Bills

A school voucher is once again making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly. Senate Bill 122 cleared the Senate Education Committee last week with a 5-2 vote and now heads to the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee. The bill would provide scholarships to low-income students who attend (or in some cases, would otherwise attend) a public school ranked in the bottom 5 percent of the state. If the scholarship slots are not filled by those students, the remaining scholarships will be awarded to low-income students residing in a district that contains at least one school in the lowest 5%.

This is the tenth year that Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) has introduced a voucher bill and he is hoping that this time it will finally become law. Last session, a similar bill passed the Senate with the support of Governor Bill Haslam, but was held up by a single vote in the House. Agudath Israel is working diligently together with its coalition partners to ensure that students in Tennessee will finally be able to receive a scholarship to attend the school of their choice.

On Wednesday, the Nevada Assembly Education Committee heard testimony on Assembly Bill 165 which would provide $10 million in state tax credits to establish the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program. Dozens of parents from the Las Vegas Jewish community attended the hearing via video conference and some testified in support of the bill. The bill was sent to the floor for a vote which may come as early as next week. Thank you to the families and leadership of Yeshiva Day School of Las Vegas for their grassroots campaign in support of this bill.