Gov. Bill Lee's controversial and frequently changed education savings account legislation was approved by a final House committee on Wednesday, ensuring it will be considered by the entire lower chamber.

The House finance committee approved the legislation during a rare gathering that entered into the evening Wednesday.

For only the second time in the last four years, a school voucher bill will now go before the full state House for consideration. As such, next week's House vote will be the most consequential of Lee's young administration that could provide him a major victory or a bruising defeat.

Education savings accounts, a voucher-style program, provide public money for parents who unenroll a student from their school district and allow them to spend the funds on private school or other education-related expenses.

Lee's proposal has faced myriad questions this session and has been one of the most closely watched pieces of legislation.

Although the committee's approval was done with a voice vote, moments earlier the panel cast a separate 13-8 vote to add a new amendment.

The 13-8 vote included approval from House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and Rep. John DeBerry, D-Memphis — the lone Democrat on the committee to vote in favor of the measure.

Four Democrats and four Republicans, including Reps. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain; Ron Gant, R-Rossville; Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville; and Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville, voted against the measure.

The latest amendment, this time from Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, came amid an effort to garner support from members representing rural districts.

The amended proposal, announced Wednesday afternoon by House Republican leadership, seeks to narrow Lee's school voucher proposal and provide grant money to rural districts in an attempt to help make it more palatable for lawmakers statewide.

Rural districts to receive funding

Hill's amendment shifts how much urban districts would have received under Lee's original proposal.

The plan will send funds to urban districts based on a percentage of the students participating in the education savings account program. It's a way to help districts make up for lost revenue for the students who enroll in the voucher program.

Counties with priority schools that aren't participating in the program also will receive grants based on a percentage of how many students participate in the urban districts.

The amendment narrows the program to the state's four largest school districts but expands eligibility to 30,000 participants.

The changes to Lee's education savings account proposal were influenced by rural lawmakers, Casada said.

"I am excited that the rural community is now engaged in education savings accounts," the speaker said hours before the committee's vote. "They are engaged in reaching out to those areas of the state where students are doing poorly and giving them an avenue to succeed in school and thus succeed in life."

Amendment narrows savings account program to urban districts

The amendment says that eligible students will be those zoned to a school in a district that had three or more schools on the state's priority school list in 2015, and that has three or more schools among the bottom 10% of all schools in 2017.

That list is limited to Metro Nashville Public Schools, along with Knox, Hamilton and Shelby county schools, and students zoned for the state-run Achievement School District.

Hill called the bill a pilot program and said it came about after House lawmakers from rural areas began to consider how the state could best approach school vouchers.

Lee's education savings account proposal has faced a decidedly difficult road so far, leading to several changes in House and Senate committees.

Details of the voucher bill

The bill would give parents $7,300 in public funds for private school or other educational services and supplies.

Families would need to meet income requirements.

Lee's plan would set aside $75 million over the next three years to begin the program, and by 2024, the plan could cost taxpayers as much as $125 million.

The new House amendment calls for 7,500 students to be eligible in the first year. That figure would double to 15,000 in the second year and increase to 22,500 in the third year.

The program would cap in its fourth year at 30,000 students.

The amendment also would call for the Tennessee Department of Education to verify the recipient's legal status in Tennessee. Students or their legal guardians would need to provide identification, including a driver’s license, passport or birth certificate, to participate.

That addition has caused concern among lawmakers, who question whether the provision is constitutional under a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says students who entered into the country illegally cannot be denied a public education.

Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, said she would explore the constitutionality of the measure. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, reiterated such concerns on Wednesday.

Rep. G. A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, requested on April 8 that Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III issue an opinion on whether the ban on undocumented students is constitutional.

Slatery declined to comment on its constitutionality.

Finance committee asks no questions about money

As the finance committee considered the bill on Wednesday, aspects of the legislation became clearer while other questions lingered.

Hill noted that unlike previous versions of the bill, his amendment would prevent recipients from moving out of the school district once they receive the money.

While facing questions from House Minority Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, about how many schools could be eligible for the grant program, Hill said rural counties, like Anderson County, that have just one failing school would be able to receive money.

Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, who later voted for the bill, said the measure was "much broader" than it should be and he hoped it would continue to undergo changes.

"My hope is that we have an even more streamlined piece of legislation once it hits the floor," Zachary said.

The bill will face no other significant committees, beyond a panel that will simply decide when to schedule it for the House chamber's consideration.

Unlike many other bills that have money attached to them, members of the House finance committee asked no questions about the financial implications of the ESA measure.

While presenting his amendment, Hill said $25 million would be provided "over the next several years" in the form of grants to schools outside the four counties identified in the ESA program in an effort to help them.

The amendment calls for splitting the $25 million between the counties utilizing the program and the rest of the state.

In the first year, school districts outside the four counties identified in the program would split $6.2 million. In the second, schools in those other 91 counties would share $12.5 million. In the third year, they would receive $18.7 million.

The remainder of the $25 million each year would be provided to the four counties using the program to help defer the costs associated with the students who receive ESAs.

"Starting in year four, those four counties will be responsible for the local portion of their BEP funding for the students that participate," Hill said.

Opposition from school boards, teachers, civil rights groups

The proposal is facing stiff opposition, including from civil rights and teacher groups, as well as superintendents and school boards.

On Monday, the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition, which is made up of over 50 civil rights and education advocacy organizations across the state, sent a letter of opposition to Lee’s plan, saying many of its members don’t believe the program is “designed to serve our students that are most in need.”

“And it codifies educational practices that are exclusionary and discriminatory,” the statement said.

The intense debate and scrutiny over the proposal aren't unprecedented.

School vouchers have been one of the most heavily debated education topics in the state for years. Most Democrats have mounted strong opposition to the creation of voucher programs, while Republicans have been split on the debate.

The Tennessee General Assembly came close to approving such a program only once, in 2016 when it made it to the House floor. Before that year, a bill never was able to get out of House committees.

What happens to the bill now

The House finance committee's action Wednesday ensures that all 99 members of the House will have an opportunity to vote on the measure.

Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, who has been shepherding voucher bills through the legislature for several years, said the legislation could be voted for on the House floor next week.

The Senate version of the bill is expected to go before the finance committee next week. It is unlikely that the Senate will adopt the same changes the House made to the legislation Wednesday.

Lee campaigned on increasing school choice for students, and supporters of the program say it provides options for students. Many supporters saw Lee's win as a path toward creating a program in Tennessee.

The first-year governor introduced his school voucher plan during the annual State of the State address.

Opponents, however, argue the program will sap money away from the state's already cash-strapped school districts. They've also cited concerns about fraud in similar programs and research that shows the programs aren't effective in other states.

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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.