Supported by private school students, Gov. Bill Lee signs his signature Private School Voucher Act. (Photo: John Partipilo/ Tennessee Lookout)

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As Tennessee lawmakers discussed the new universal voucher program earlier this year, One financial analysis predicted 65% of vouchers go to students who are already enrolled in private schools.

Now it is impossible to determine whether the projection is accurate or not.

Tennessee families are not required to report previous school registrations for the new statewide voucher program application. This is the gap that leaves Tennessee in the dark about whether to significantly increase access to private schools for public school students or whether to send public funds to students already enrolled in private schools.

State education officials do not explain why they have not asked about previous registrations, data that are regularly collected by other states that administer similar voucher programs.

The Tennessee Department of Education has not responded to Chalkbeat Tennessee’s inquiries about the decision and whether the state plans to collect additional information in the future.

In a statement, Gov. Bill Lee’s office said the law enacting the program does not require the state to gather information.

The lack of data collection on these issues is a significant deviation from the state’s first voucher program, the Education Savings Account initiative. The program has been available in three counties since 2022 and continues to require parents to report specific schools that their children have previously registered to apply for.

Additionally, the new voucher program application does not require families to report their household income if they are applying for one of the 10,000 slots available without an income cap.

Tennessee began applying for the program in mid-May. This will provide around $7,295 for 20,000 students to spend their time at private schools. In the first year, half of the vouchers are reserved for families below a certain income cap, while the other “universal” half is open to all applicants.

Rep. Caleb Hemmer, a Democrat from Nashville who is critical of the Lee-backed voucher program, asked state education officials for more information on why the vastly expanded program has reduced data on students.

“Even if you’re a provider, you’d want some of this information so that you can see where these parents are moving their children out,” Hemmer said.

The new application is in stark contrast to similar voucher programs across the country.

A state like Arizona, Florida, North Carolinaand Alabama They regularly collect and publish data surrounding previous school registrations, and lawmakers use similar data as markers to measure the communities the program is reaching. In March, Alabama officials released data indicating that more than 66% of applicants to the program are already private schools or homeschooled students. Florida’s voucher program has expandedthe state shows data showing that around 69% of students are already enrolled in private schools.

Hemmer scathed at the Tennessee Department of Education this week, questioning whether it was a calculated decision that “we don’t have to worry about negative headlines to protect some of this information.”

“This is a new program, and these data collections are extremely important to understand how these programs work,” says Hemmer. “This is the governor’s signature initiative. The governor’s office and the school board responsible for managing this will want to know everything possible about how this is run.”

Kirk Haston, chairman of the K-12 Education Subcommittee, a Republican at Lobelville, said he was not very interested in the lack of previous registration information and suggested that the new voucher application should not be compared to previous programs.

“One of the data that matters to me is whether the funds are back to taxpayers in Tennessee,” Haston says.

State officials are nervous about many details of the EFS application process by summer. The governor’s office appeared to be closely involved in communications regarding the program, which has been Lee’s signature issue for many years.

In May, following media enquiries, Lee’s office and TDOE issued a joint statement pointing out that more than 33,000 people had applied for the program.

The number of applicants the state has accepted or rejected is not yet clear.

TDOE did not respond to Chalkbeat Tennessee’s request this summer. We provided specific information on whether the department met 11 positions funded by Congress to assist in the administration of the voucher program, and whether the number of applicants met 11 positions.

Melissa Brown is the director of Chalkbeat Tennessee. Please contact Melissa sand@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a non-profit news site that covers educational changes in public schools.