NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The dust from the election is still settling, but that hasn’t stopped Tennessee legislators from pushing forward another bill aimed at establishing a private school voucher program in Tennessee.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth attached their names to the bill, introducing it as the Education Freedom Act of 2025.

There’s plenty of similarities between the 2025 filing and the long-discussed filing from last session, which prompted back-and-forth from both Tennessee Democrats and Republicans, who were unable to make a compromise and pass the program.

The numbers are largely the same. The bill promises 20,000 $7,000 scholarships to students who attend a private school in Tennessee, awarded based (mostly) on their family’s income.

Under the bill, 10,000 scholarships would go first to families who make less than 300% of the amount required by the state for a student to qualify for free or reduced lunch. The remaining half of the scholarships would go to any student who qualifies, regardless of income.

The federal government outlines income requirements for free and reduced lunch prices. For example, under the bill, a family of three would qualify for that first chunk of scholarships with an annual income of less than $147,301.

Gov. Bill Lee has made it a priority to pass a school voucher program. He spent much of the last legislative session pushing hard for a bill like the Education Freedom Act of 2025.

Also last session, school vouchers came under fire, with opponents saying the program would pull money from public schools. Johnson and Lamberth appear to be trying to set those worries at ease, adding language that not only claims public school funding wouldn’t be affected by the voucher program, but also throwing in a section saying the state Department of Education would pay out a $2,000 bonus to all K-12 public school teachers in the state.

That money would go to teachers who work during the 2024-2025 school year and would come from state money.

Another addition; the latest bill would also introduce state testing for private school students who get a scholarship. The lack of accountability for the students was a major pain point for opponents last session.

The bill is still early in its journey to possibly passing. Johnson and Lamberth introduced it on Wednesday.