KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Gov.-elect Bill Lee said Monday he is open to promoting a school voucher program as part of his upcoming legislative agenda and committed himself to being an advocate for school choice in Tennessee.
Lee spoke about vouchers — a controversial measure — along with criminal justice reform, immigration policy and other topics Monday during an appearance on the Grand Divisions, the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee's policy and politics podcast.
"The specifics about education proposals, we haven’t gotten there yet, but I am an advocate for choice, and I think you'll see going forward that I will advocate for parents to have choices," Lee said.
School vouchers, which so far have failed to gain adequate support in the Tennessee General Assembly, rely on publicly funded scholarships to send students to private schools.
Lee has appointed multiple pro-voucher staffers to new administration
Lee's remarks come days after announcing the addition of a second staff member to his incoming team who has previously worked for an organization that supports school vouchers.
"I developed a real interest in education by working with an inner-city, at-risk youth organization and mentored a young man coming out of a very troubled neighborhood," said Lee, who spent an evening a week with the boy for five years.
The need for school choice, specifically, stood out to Lee as he worked with the boy's grandmother to have him moved out of a traditional public school "where he was failing every class" into a nearby charter school where his progress improved, Lee said.
The young man is now in college, Lee said.
"It's what really drove my thinking about parental choice," Lee said. "Whether it’s a charter school or whatever choice a parent has, not only is that individual child’s outcome improved, but I think the system is improved."
Opponents of voucher programs say public schools and Tennessee teachers will continue to struggle as funding is taken away and distributed to private schools, where there is less oversight of the quality of education.
Legislation in support of school vouchers has failed to gain widespread support in the General Assembly despite being a topic of debate for more than a decade and receiving support from Gov. Bill Haslam for a limited program.
Throughout his campaign for governor, Lee was an advocate for school choice.
Lee calls for use of alternative sentencing programs
Lee also has emphasized criminal justice reform as one of his top priorities when he takes over the governor's office on Jan. 19.
After spending years volunteering with Men of Valor, a Nashville faith-based nonprofit that helps men being released from prison with the re-entry process, Lee said the state "can do a better job of that in corrections."
He cited the statistics: Of the inmate population, around 95 percent will be released from prison. Of those, roughly half commit crimes again within the first two years of release, sending them back to prison.
Gov.-elect Bill Lee and his wife, Maria, left, volunteer Nov. 21, 2018, at Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville. (Photo: Natalie Allison / The Tennessean)
"If we really wanted to address the crime rate ... then we need to reduce recidivism," Lee said. "And we do that by looking at how we re-enter folks."
Another major factor of criminal justice reform, Lee noted is "who gets incarcerated in the first place."
Lee said he will support the use of alternative sentencing programs for low-level, nonviolent offenders, including drug courts, mental health courts and veteran courts to find ways to rehabilitate certain offenders while still assigning them a sentence.
As critics decry Cyntoia Brown's life sentence, Lee defers to Haslam
Asked whether he believed the governor should grant clemency to Cyntoia Brown, who is serving a life sentence for a murder she committed at 16, Lee said he didn't know enough about the specifics of the case. In general, Lee said, the state needs to "look hard at who and why we incarcerate."
Brown, now 30, was convicted in 2004. Advocates for Brown said she had been forced into sex trafficking and shot Johnny Allen, a Nashville real estate agent, out of self defense, fearing he was reaching for a gun.
The case has recently drawn national media attention, and Brown has received support from celebrities such as Rihanna and Kim Kardashian.
The Tennessee Supreme Court last week said that Brown could be eligible for release after she serves 51 years in prison.
"The particulars of her case I've not been privy to," Lee said. "I think when you talk about a specific case, you have to be given all the information about a case, and I haven't been in that one."
Haslam has not announced a decision on clemency for Brown.
"It's important that we act on these things one governor at a time, and I respect his decision-making process in these things," Lee said. "If there hasn’t been a decision made by the time I'm elected, it’ll fall into my hands and I'll certainly be looking at it."
Vows support for refugees, immigrants while backing state's lawsuit against feds
In recent weeks, Lee has continued his vow to be a governor for every Tennessean.
He said Monday that even includes immigrants and refugees who call Tennessee home.
"For every citizen of this state, I want them to believe that we are a state that wants them to be successful, that wants them to be part of this community," he said.
In recent years, advocates for immigrants and refugees have said they have felt targeted by actions taken by the state legislature.
For example, in 2015, Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, who is expected to become the next speaker of the House, said the Tennessee National Guard should round up Syrian refugees in the state.
Lawmakers have approved measures such as a ban on sanctuary cities and introduced others that critics say targeted Muslims.
Advocates for immigrants and refugees have criticized such legislation while noting the economic impact of such groups.
Lee said he and his wife, Maria, have been part of the refugee community, including through nonprofits and ministry work.
"We know that as these folks become citizens of Tennessee, it's in all of our best interests for them to feel engaged, for them to feel welcome," he said. "I want every citizen in Tennessee to know that I do want to serve them as their governor. I do want life to be better for every single Tennessean."
At the same time, Lee said he supports the state's ongoing lawsuit against the federal government over refugee resettlement.
"I think that the state should be able to decide who comes into the state," he said, calling the issue important in terms of public safety.
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29. Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @natalie_allison.