School Vouchers & Education
School Vouchers: The Right Idea Needs the Right Execution
Tennessee families deserve real choices when it comes to their children's education. When a public school is failing, a parent should have options. That belief is not controversial. What is worth debating is whether Tennessee's school voucher programs are actually delivering on that promise.
Tennessee voters deserve a State Senator who will ask the hard questions, follow the money, and demand results. That is exactly what Dan will do.
28%
From Public School
Only 28% of ESA participants came from a TN public school by year three
65%
Already Private
State's own projection: 65% of new scholarship recipients already in private school
<4%
Reached
Program reaches fewer than 4% of eligible economically disadvantaged students
$34M
Admin Cost
School improvement fund payout in 2024-25 alone — exceeded budget
Where the Money
Is Actually Going
The Tennessee Education Savings Account (ESA) program was created in 2019 and promised to give low-income students a way out of struggling public schools. By the program's third year, only 28 percent of participating students had come from a Tennessee public school in the prior year. The program intended to rescue students from failing schools was instead serving students who were largely already enrolled in private settings.
The problem is even more pronounced with the newer Education Freedom Scholarship Act, passed in January 2025. The state's own fiscal analysis projected that roughly 65 percent of voucher recipients would be families already enrolled in private school before receiving taxpayer-funded scholarships — a subsidy for families who had already made their choice, rather than a genuine opportunity for students who needed one.
28% of ESA participants came from a TN
public school by year three of the program
65% State's own projection for new scholarship
recipients already in private school
The Department of Education has since declined to release data confirming or refuting that projection, stating it is not required by law to do so. That lack of transparency is unacceptable when Tennessee taxpayers are footing the bill.
High Costs,
Low Participation
Tennessee's ESA program has never reached its own enrollment capacity. In the 2024-25 school year, just 3,693 students were actively using a voucher, despite the program having a capacity of 5,000 students. More than 98,000 students in the three eligible districts qualify as economically disadvantaged.
3,693 Students actively
using a vouche
vs
98,000+ Economically disadvantaged
students eligible
Despite this low participation, administrative costs have grown dramatically. The school improvement fund paid out $34 million in 2024-25 alone — exceeding the budget and requiring an emergency state supplement. Thirty-four million dollars for a program serving fewer students than many individual Tennessee high schools is difficult to justify.
The program's complicated online portal, misaligned application timelines, and late award communication have made participation harder for the low-income families it was designed to serve. Nearly one in three approved students never even used their voucher.
No Accountability for Academic Performance
A January 2026 evaluation from the Tennessee Comptroller's Office found that ESA students have consistently scored below their public school peers on TCAP assessments in every year of the program. ESA students in Nashville scored 17 percentage points below their public school peers in math. In Chattanooga, the gap was 18 percentage points.
-17pts Nashville ESA students
vs. public school peers in math (TCAP)
22/27 ESA schools received at least
one failing TVAAS growth rating in 2024-25
Perhaps most troubling: the Tennessee Department of Education has not established any metric defining what poor academic performance looks like for participating private schools. There are no standards, no benchmarks, and no consequences.
No school has ever been removed from the voucher program for failing
its students academically — because the rules to do so have never been written.
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What Dan Will Fight For in Nashville
Dan Pohlgeers will go to the Tennessee State Senate with a clear agenda for fixing school voucher policy:
Require Transparency
The state must publicly report what percentage of voucher recipients were already enrolled in private school before receiving public funds.
Target the Right Students
Vouchers should prioritize students currently enrolled in low-performing public schools — not primarily subsidize families who already chose private school.
Demand Academic Accountability
TDOE must create and enforce clear academic performance standards. Schools that fail students year after year should not continue receiving public dollars.
Reduce Administrative Overhead
The cost of administering this program must be proportional to the number of students it actually serves.
Fix the Enrollment Process
The complicated portal, misaligned timelines, and uncertain award amounts are barriers to participation. They are solvable problems that require political will to fix.
Protect Rural Communities
84% of Tennessee counties have three or fewer private schools. Any school choice program must account for families in rural areas with no realistic private school option.
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Join the Movement.
This campaign is built on grassroots support from families across Carter, Johnson, and Washington Counties. Your involvement makes a difference — whether you have five minutes or five hours to give.
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