Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) said the passage of the Education Freedom Act of 2025 sends a message that the Volunteer State believes in “parents making choices that are right for their kids.”
On Thursday, the Education Freedom Act (SB6001/HB 6004) passed the Tennessee House by a 54-44 vote and the Tennessee Senate by a 20-13 vote.
The bill makes 20,000 Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) available for Tennessee students beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.
Johnson, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said it feels “really good” to have successfully gotten the legislation across the finish line.
“This is really important public policy,” Johnson said on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“We believe in parents. We believe in parents making choices that are right for their kids. It’s a great day for Tennessee, and I look forward to having Governor Lee sign this legislation and it becoming law,” Johnson added.
Johnson said the 20,000 initial scholarships will be worth approximately $7,300 each.
“I can’t stress this enough: that’s $7,300 for a single mother in Memphis who is zoned for a failing school. This can change children’s lives and empower parents to be able to pick a different educational alternative. It’s 20,000 kids who are going to have a shot at a brighter future because their parents will be able to pick a better school for them,” Johnson explained.
“It’s impactful, it’s powerful, and I’m very excited,” Johnson added.
This week’s special session in the General Assembly also saw legislators pass a disaster relief package and other measures related to immigration.
The immigration bill legislators passed, SB6002/HB6001, creates a new division within the Tennessee Department of Safety, supports local law enforcement participation in federal programs, creates new state-issued identification policies, and other measures.
Johnson said the passage of the immigration bill “sends” a signal that Tennessee is prepared to fully cooperate with ICE and the Trump administration” to “rid our state of these violent illegal aliens that are in our communities.”
“We’re seeing governors and other elected officials in other states saying they are going to ‘Trump proof’ their states and their communities and that they’re going to fight the Trump administration in their efforts to get violent, illegal aliens out of their communities. It’s absolutely insane, so we wanted to send the exact opposite message, as are some other states,” Johnson said.
Listen to the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Jack Johnson” by Jack Johnson.
