Protecting Children in School Choice Programs

Scripture calls believers to defend the vulnerable and guard the innocence of children. Proverbs 31:8 commands us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. SB2346 answers that call in practical, legislative terms by ensuring that private schools participating in Tennessee's education savings account program, individualized education account program, and education freedom scholarship program cannot employ individuals with documented records of child abuse, severe child abuse, child sexual abuse, or child neglect.

Parental choice in education is a principle The American Council strongly supports. But choice carries responsibility. When families entrust a school with their child, they are placing confidence not only in the curriculum but in the character and safety of the institution itself. This bill reinforces that trust by establishing a clear, enforceable floor: no school benefiting from public scholarship dollars may employ a known abuser of children. That is not a burden on school choice; it is a condition worthy of it.

The bill's mechanism is appropriately narrow. It does not impose sweeping new regulatory frameworks on private schools. It targets a specific, well-defined category of disqualifying conduct and attaches that disqualification to participation in state-funded choice programs. Schools that operate with integrity will feel no burden from this requirement. The only institutions meaningfully affected are those that might otherwise employ individuals with verified records of harming children.

The bill also extends the Department of Human Services' review capacity to child care agencies, allowing those agencies to request DHS evaluation of employees or prospective employees for records of abuse or neglect of children or adults. This is a modest but meaningful expansion of the state's protective infrastructure, consistent with the government's legitimate role in safeguarding those in its care.

The American Council supports SB2346 as a principled, proportionate measure that strengthens the integrity of Tennessee's school choice programs and honors the moral obligation to protect children from those who have demonstrated a willingness to harm them. We encourage the legislature to advance this bill without delay.