WHEREAS, The Republican Party (RNC) platform states, “Parents are a child’s first and foremost educators, and have primary responsibility for the education of their children. Parents have a right to direct their children’s education, care, and upbringing.”;
WHEREAS, The RNC platform states, “We reject a one-size-fits-all approach to education and support a broad range of choices for parents and children at the state and local level.”;
WHEREAS, The RNC platform states, “We support options for learning, including home-schooling, career and technical education, private or parochial schools, magnet schools, charter schools, online learning, and early-college high schools. We especially support the innovative financing mechanisms that make options available to all children: education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers, and tuition tax credits. Empowering families to access the learning environments that will best help their children to realize their full potential is one of the greatest civil rights challenges of our time. A young person’s ability to succeed in school must be based on his or her God-given talent and motivation, not an address, zip code, or economic status.”;
WHEREAS, In 2019, TN adopted an education savings account (ESA) pilot program in Shelby and Davidson counties to uses tax dollars toward education expenses at private schools for eligible students from a household whose income does not exceed twice the federal income eligibility guidelines for a free school lunch.;
WHEREAS, Public Chapter 328 (2023) has expanded TN’s ESA program to Hamilton County.;
WHEREAS, Public Chapter 171 (2023) has expanded the eligibility of TN’s ESA program by allowing students currently enrolled in nonpublic schools to participate if from a household that meets current income guidelines.;
WHEREAS, A second public charter school in Knox County was approved despite opposition from Knox County Democrat politicians; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, _______________________________________________________ supports parents having more freedom to direct the education of their children, and more opportunities with additional school options including private, religious, parochial, at-home, specialized, charter, magnet, and nonpublic, and
RESOLVED, __________________________________________ encourages elected officials to aggressively seek expansion of school choice options and expand opportunities for families to participate regardless of their address or lack of financial means, and
RESOLVED, A copy of this adopted resolution be sent to all Republican Knox County State Delegation Members and Republican Knox County Board of Education Members.
Adopted the ___ day of __________,
2023
_________________ _________________
President Secretary