Families Need Options and Educational Freedom

    I am writing to encourage you to support legislation that will expand educational freedom by providing families options and the ability to customize or choose the best education for their child. Disagreements over Covid policies, curriculum, or mandates can all be solved by empowering families with educational freedom. Parents should have agency over what, where, and how their children learn.

    A recent report indicates that only 53% of education funding from the state makes it into the classroom. Much of the funds intended for students and teachers is used up in administrative costs instead. It’s time we provide legislative solutions that will fund students, not bureaucracy. I urge you to support the following policies in the upcoming session to correct this issue:

1. Modernize the public education funding system to allow for backpack funding. 
2. Expand Educational Savings Account access to all families. 
3. Enact mini-ESAs or scholarships that any parent can easily access, including homeschoolers.
4. Allow students to freely transfer to other public schools if there are open seats available.

    I believe parents should be able to use state or federal funds assigned to their child to find the education solution that works best for them and their values. The current top-down model needs to be replaced with a bottom-up system that empowers every family and student.

    Thank you for your consideration and service to our state. I truly appreciate your efforts to make sure Tennesseans flourish while future generations have the greatest educational opportunities in the nation.