Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes scholarships for low-income students living within the four largest Tennessee counties, in order to attend a private school of their choosing.

Highlights:

• Requires students to meet the following conditions to be eligible for a scholarship (Sec. 3):
• Reside in a Tennessee school district with average daily membership of at least 38,000 or reside in a county having a population of at least 800,000;
• Be a member of a household whose total income in the year prior to initial scholarship receipt would have qualified as a low-income student; and
• Have been eligible to attend public school in the semester preceding receipt of the scholarship or is starting school in Tennessee for the first time.

• Specifies the scholarship amount shall be the lesser of either the participating schools average cost per student including operational and capital facility costs or 50 percent of the dollar amount the resident school district would have allocated per person had the student been enrolled in that particular school (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that no financial aid from state or local funds above the scholarship amount shall be awarded to eligible students (Sec. 4.).

• Specifies that if a student is denied admission to a participating school because of too few spaces, the student may transfer the scholarship to another participating school (Sec 4).

• Requires all eligible students and their parents be notified by July 15 of each year that they are eligible for the scholarship (Sec 6).

Full Bill Text