NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many Tennessee lawmakers returned home to their districts Friday, after this week’s Special Session came to close. In all, Tennessee leaders passed more than a billion dollars in new programs and projects.

On Monday, before a single bill was even considered, young people in Tennessee flooded the capitol and the gallery, hoping lawmakers would focus on school safety. “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!” echoed around the marble hallways of the capitol.

Gov. Bill Lee’s call for a special session couldn’t be amended on short notice, so instead, lawmakers focused on Hurricane Helene relief for East Tennessee and controversial bills involving illegal immigration enforcement and school voucher expansion.

Special session rules meant that bills, typically debated over several weeks, went to different committees in a matter of hours. Republican committee chairs had zero tolerance if they thought members of the public were disrupting proceedings. “The first four ladies, yessir, from there over — have all been snapping and being disruptive,” said Rep. Chris Todd, R-Jackson, during a Wednesday committee hearing on immigration.

Three women were forcibly removed from the room, carried by Tennessee State Troopers. They included Michelle Flynn, a grandmother, who claimed it was all a big misunderstanding. “We hadn’t said anything, we hadn’t broken any rules,” Flynn told NewsChannel 5.

School Vouchers

The Tennessee House and Senate voted to provide school vouchers to families in all 95 counties in the state.

The vote was 54-44, with some Republicans breaking from the supermajority on this issue.

State senators approved the measure a couple of hours later. It passed in the Senate by a vote of 20-13, with some Republicans voting against it like their colleagues in the House.

HB 6004 provides the framework for how public tax dollars would fund tuition expenses for students who want to attend private school. House Majority Leader William Lamberth and Sen. Jack Johnson are the bill’s primary sponsors for the Education Freedom Act of 2025. The bill included the layout for the vouchers, a one-time bonus for public school teachers and maintenance money for public school buildings across the state.

The bill sailed through four committees in seven hours this week. On Thursday, lawmakers spent hours debating the bill.

During that debate, House Speaker Cameron Sexton warned the gallery once about their noise level during the lawmaker discussion. He threatened to throw every audience member out of the House if it happened again.

Republicans argued this bill would provide school choice to many parents across the state. The baseline voucher amount is $7,000. The state wants to offer 20,000 students the opportunity to take part in the voucher program during the next school year. Republicans said the state can do both: both provide money for public schools and fund the voucher system.

“We will never go backward on public education,” Lamberth said. “I would hope each and every member would be for that. I know it’s a passionate issue for so many in this room and Tennessee. For the first time ever, we can fully support funding schools. I look forward to the regular session so every single kid in this state can have a fantastic education in this state.

Only one Republican tried to amend the bill, and that was to ensure that students with disabilities weren’t discriminated against. The House voted that down.

Democrats argued that the $7,000 wouldn’t cover the expenses of going to private school and it would hurt rural and urban students. They also filed more than 20 amendments to try to change the wording of the bill. All of their efforts failed.

“This is welfare for the wealthy,” said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, House Democratic Caucus Chair from Nashville. “We are going to blow a hole in our state budget voluntarily for wealthy people.”

Gov. Bill Lee had to face jeers from the public on the way to his news conference, following the conclusion of the special session, with demonstrators chanting “voucher scam” and waving $7,000 with his face on them. Even still, he couldn’t contain his excitement for passing school choice. “It is, in fact, a momentous day for students and for teachers and for parents across Tennessee,” said Lee Thursday.

For more on the school voucher debate, you can read more here.

Illegal Immigration Enforcement

The Tennessee Republican supermajority passed in both chambers an immigration bill that would create a border czar, an enforcement division and new state IDs for non-citizens.

House members voted on party lines after an impassioned debate on Thursday afternoon that lasted more than an hour during the special session.

The Senate already passed the bill on Wednesday. Democrats were staunchly against the bill.

The bill creates an Immigration Enforcement Division within the Tennessee Department of Safety, overseen by a Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer appointed by Gov. Lee.

This would in effect create a Tennessee border czar to serve as a federal liaison with the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. It would allow an agreement between the state and the United States Attorney General concerning the enforcement of federal immigration laws, detention and removals, and investigations in the state. That is known as the 287 G agreement.

The department would only last during the Trump administration. Per the bill, it would “sunset” or stop at the end of the Trump administration. Legislators would have to renew the department if they want it to continue after 2028.

As written, the new division would only employ four people, including the border czar who is scheduled to make $231,401.

The department itself will cost the state around $1.4 million each year, according to the fiscal note.

The bill would also allow for state grant funds to encourage local law enforcement to also complete 287 G agreements. Local agencies aren’t required to participate.

However, the bill’s language would not require city councils and county commissions to approve the participation.

That would cost the state $5 million in the budget for this upcoming year. It’s not clear what that amount will be in future years.

By state law, Tennessee doesn’t allow for sanctuary cities to begin with. However, the bill would allow the Tennessee Attorney General to remove elected leaders who violate Tennessee’s existing ban. This became a point of contention during the House Finance Committee hearing. “This should not be illegal or felonious to cast a vote as an elected official,” said Rep. Antonio Parkinson, a Memphis Democrat.

“Voting to establish a sanctuary city is just that, we’re not going to have that in the state of Tennessee,” replied Rep. William Lamberth, a Portland Republican.

Sanctuary cities are already banned under Tennessee law.

The bill outlined that only American citizens or lawful residents would be allowed a Tennessee ID.

Additionally, there will be a new marker on licenses for those who aren’t citizens. Lawmakers said that is being done to prevent non-U.S. citizens from registering to vote.

Lawmakers didn’t indicate how big of a problem this was within in the state, but this summer the Secretary of State’s office caused a stir when it requested 14,375 registered voters to provide proof of citizenship this summer before the 2024 election. The office later said they wouldn’t kick voters off the rolls if they didn’t respond.

At the time, the Secretary of State’s office said it compared Tennessee’s voter roles with data from the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security — the department that issues driver’s licenses. Residents — who were American citizens — complained to NewsChannel 5 at the time they received the letter, particularly after they had been U.S. citizens for more than a decade.

The new law would also require proof of citizenship for renewal of licenses.

If you’d like to read more about the immigration enforcement bill, tap here.

Aid for East Tennessee

Lawmakers also approved millions of dollars in aid to East Tennessee, following the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene last year. Here’s a breakdown of what impacted counties can expect:

• $240 million to bolster Tennessee’s existing disaster relief fund, as well as reduce the local cost-share burden from 12.5% to 5% and fund the state match requirement in order to access federal funds and cover administrative costs.
• $110 million to establish a new fund that will help local governments manage loan interest for recovery costs by covering interest costs at 5% per year for three years on loans for recovery expenses.
•  $100 million to create a new program inspired by the HEAL Program that will provide flexible financial resources for future emergencies, including agricultural recovery, unemployment assistance, and business recovery efforts. The HEAL program provided impacted counties $65 million for debris removal and $35 million for clean water recovery efforts. The funds will be loaned to federally declared disaster counties with a zero percent interest rate.
• $20 million for the rebuilding of Hampton High School in Carter County, which was destroyed in Hurricane Helene.

What’s next?

School safety measures were not a part of Lee’s special session call. But in the wake of the Antioch High School shooting, many in attendance wanted it to be included. Per state law, the topic couldn’t be added. However, NewsChannel 5 asked the Governor about the topic following the special session.

“We will continue to look at ways to make our school safer. We’ve done that for years, we’ll continue to do that,” said Lee, in response.

Democrats also expressed eagerness to address this with legislation, when lawmakers return for the regular legislative session in February.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email us at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com or Emily.West@NewsChannel5.com.

The controversial bill has made its way to Governor Bill Lee’s desk after it was passed by the House and Senate.

Julia Ornedo 

Reporter

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Published Jan. 30 2025 7:51PM EST 

Julia Ornedo

Reporter

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation drastically expanding the number of families who can use taxpayer money on private schools regardless of income, a long-sought victory for Republican Gov. Bill Lee with some help from President Donald Trump to win over GOP holdouts.

The bill heads to Lee for his almost-certain signature. Tennessee would join a dozen other states that have eliminated traditional strict income requirements for families seeking to access public dollars to fund alternatives to public education for their children.

Under Tennessee’s proposal, 20,000 education vouchers of around $7,000 each would become available next year. Half of those would go to students who are lower income, disabled or otherwise able to participate in the new voucher program, but any student entitled to attend a public school could access the remaining 10,000.

Thursday’s House and Senate approval occurred within a session specially called by Lee, allowing him to narrowly focus lawmakers’ attention instead of waiting for action during the ongoing, monthslong regular session covering all kinds of topics. The special session began Monday.

Trump weighed in on social media Tuesday. He praised Tennessee lawmakers for “working hard to pass School Choice this week, which I totally support.” Additionally, the Trump administration told the U.S. Education Department to use discretionary money to prioritize school choice programs and give states new guidance on how they can use federal money to support K-12 voucher programs.

The head of the conservative Club for Growth, which is running TV ads lauding the voucher plan, also warned Republican lawmakers that they would fund primary election challengers to try to defeat anyone who opposes the bill.

Supporters have repeatedly argued expanding school choice is critical to supporting parental rights and giving families the best options for their children. At the Republican National Convention, Lee even called school choice the “civil rights issue of our time.”

Yet Democrats, who hold only a sliver of power in Tennessee but led the charge on publicly questioning the governor’s voucher plan, repeatedly pointed out this week the unexpected costs that have popped up in other states and stressed that the legislation would largely benefit wealthy families who don’t need the financial assistance. Legislative analysts assume about two-thirds of the vouchers will go to students already attending private schools.

“Make no mistake, this is welfare for the wealthy,” said Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons during Thursday’s floor debate.

Republicans have defended the lax income limits, arguing parents need more choices, regardless of wealth.

“As the sponsor of this legislation, I’ve never once said that this was a program designed for disadvantaged families,” GOP Sen. Jack Johnson said.

The push to expand school vouchers comes as Republicans across the country have increased their criticisms of public schools in recent years. They have said some public schools were too slow to reopen in the COVID-19 pandemic, sought to limit what public schools can teach about race and sexuality, and adopted laws and rules banning transgender athletes in school sports.

Yet when presented directly to voters, school choice expansion efforts have faltered. Last election, Kentucky voters rejected a measure to enable public funding for private school attendance, and Nebraska voters partially repealed a law that uses taxpayer money to subsidize private education. A proposed constitutional amendment in Colorado that would have established schoolchildren’s “right to school choice” also was defeated.

In Tennessee, multiple local school boards passed resolutions stating their opposition to Lee’s voucher plan. Teachers and students flocked to the Capitol this week, holding signs and yelling out as lawmakers walked into floor sessions pleading with them not to gut public education dollars. On Thursday, some protesters handed out fake money labeled “voucher scam bribe.”

Another sticking point was the large amount of testimony from families of students who have learning disabilities pointing out that private schools can and do reject students with certain impairments. A last-minute amendment that would have prohibited private schools from discriminating against students with disabilities was rejected from the House.

Since taking office in 2019, Lee has narrowly won efforts to create a school voucher program for low-income families in three counties. But last year, Lee failed to win enough support to launch a statewide school voucher program no longer based on income.

For the upcoming budget year, more than $400 million would be set aside for the voucher plan that folds in other education initiatives. One of those add-ons is $172 million for one-time bonuses of $2,000 for teachers.

In order to receive it, however, a local school board would have to pass a resolution opting in to the bonus section of the voucher bill. The requirement was added after a number of school boards passed resolutions broadly opposing vouchers.

Legislative budget analysts project the legislation will cost $190.8 million annually in future years.

While Republicans touted their focus on adding billions of dollars to K-12 education in recent years, Democrats noted that Tennessee ranks near the bottom of all states in per-pupil funding for K-12 education.