Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved a universal private school voucher bill that expands the number of families who can use taxpayer money to pay for tuition at private schools, regardless of their income.
House lawmakers voted 54–44 to pass the bill, and the Senate later voted 20–13 to approve it.
Under the legislation, 20,000 education vouchers of about $7,200 each would become available during the next school year to help students cover the costs of tuition, tutoring, and educational expenses at private schools.
About 10,000 of those would go to students who are lower income, have certain disabilities, or are otherwise able to participate in the new voucher program….