Sen. Marsha Blackburn made a clear promise to Tennessee parents: more school choice, not less. Asked by WSMV whether she would expand the state’s Education Freedom Scholarship program as governor, the Republican nominee answered in one word: “Yes.” She said 17,000 families are on the waiting list. “One size fits all education does not work,” Blackburn said. “What we want is for every child to be in an environment where they can best learn.”
Blackburn said parents should not have to “feel like they have to win the lottery” to have a say in their child’s education. “We’ve got families that have chosen public schools. We’ve got families that have chosen charter schools or private schools, parochial schools, micro schools, homeschool,” she said. “Let’s make certain that we are setting our children up for success.” She said the money to grow the program will come from cutting waste: “Beginning with the DOGE, rooting out all of that waste, fraud and abuse.”
The program, launched nearly two years ago, now serves about 35,000 students, according to WSMV. The choice on the ballot could not be sharper. Democrat Jerri Green wants to defund the scholarships. Independent David Hatley would freeze them, and independent Lauren Pinkston would move the money to early childcare.
Blackburn would carry on Gov. Bill Lee’s fight. In his State of the State address in February, Lee said, “We gave families school choice with the education freedom scholarship program because we know that parents know best.” He said 34,000 students were still waiting “for a shot at education freedom,” and called on lawmakers to “at the very least double the amount of scholarships this year for Tennessee students.”
Tennesseans are turning out. Through the first four days of early voting, 305,844 had voted early or absentee, 72% more than at the same point in 2022, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Early voting runs through Thursday, Oct. 29, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
