Governor Bill Lee’s “voucher” program in Tennessee, approved by the legislature earlier this year, is already funneling taxpayer money to multiple Muslim schools across the state that embrace Sharia (Islamic) law and jihad. School leaders are also using the students to lobby state officials. Critics of the proposed program raised these concerns at the time, but they were ignored during the contentious debate over whether to approve the plan or not.

The revelations are fueling fresh criticism of the taxpayer-funded “choice” scheme. Known as the “Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Program,” opponents warned early on it would lead to more government control over private education and homeschooling. Critics also cautioned against the lack of transparency in the program, which is also proven true. 
Now, concerns are growing about just what sort of “education” taxpayers are being forced to fund. Even a cursory review of social media profiles of Islamic school leaders and the schools themselves reveals deeply controversial activities that most Tennessee taxpayers would frown upon. Out-of-state groups spent huge sums lobbying the legislature to pass the scheme. Now they are spending millions opposing state representative Jody Barrett in his campaign for Congress in the seventh congressional district. The issue is now becoming part of the bitter 7th District Special election fight in the final days before the GOP primary vote.

Barrett, was one of the most vocal opponents of the plan and warned his colleagues about the fact that Muslim oriented schools would be a primary beneficiary of the Lee plan when the government-funded “choice” legislation was voted on. He has already been proven right.  

“They were all aware when we voted on this that there was no prohibition on tax money for these types of programs,” he has said regarding the funding for Islamic schools. “It was discussed, and everyone who voted on it knew that they would be allowing tax dollars to go to Islamic programs along these lines.” 
Among the Muslim schools listed on the state’s website as eligible for receiving taxpayer funds is “Pleasant View School.” On its website, the school claims to offer “Excellence in Education Through Islam.”
The school also says it provides a “strong foundation” in Islam that is “at the heart” of its mission. That way, the marketing material continues, students will “love Islam, learn Islam, and live Islam.”
The website explains that starting in pre-K, students will learn how to “fully live a practicing Islamic lifestyle.” In elementary school, the children will gain an “in-depth understanding” of the Islamic prophets, including Muhammad, who married a young child and waged ruthless war on those who refused to accept Islam, as “role models to emulate.”
By middle school, students at the school will learn “detailed rules” for life under Islam, as articulated in the religion’s holy texts. And in high school, they will “come to understand Islam as a mission that guides their lives.”  
Public announcements reveal that Pleasant View School students have been working with the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) to influence Tennessee politics. In fact, on social media, the school brags about joining with other Islamic schools and using its students for Islamic advocacy.
In March, the school boasted about taking more than 40 of its students for a “historical Muslim Day on the Hill.” They had dozens of meetings with lawmakers and officials, “ensuring our voices were heard at the highest levels of state government,” the school said.
“Our message was clear: Tennessee’s Muslim community is engaged, organized, and committed to advocating for justice,” the tax-funded school said on its social media pages.
Other Islamic schools on the taxpayer dole — some of which also participated in the lobbying — include Nashville International School, Annoor Academy of Chattanooga, Annoor Academy of Knoxville, and others.
Representative Barrett, who voted against the voucher scheme earlier this year, slammed the program funneling tax money to these and other schools. It was never really a “choice” program in the first place he has said. “It does not create any new choice,” Barrett has noted, adding that the vast majority of those taking tax money already had their children enrolled in private schools.
Barrett has called it “fiscally irresponsible” to spend half a billion dollars creating “scholarships” for 2 percent of the population. “This is not creating a pathway to educational freedom,” he says. Barrett has also pointed out that his own constituents overwhelmingly opposed the plan, and that many of those voting for it didn’t have any private schools in their districts that were available to receive the taxpayer funds.
“Of course, Republicans, who control state politics, would not be comfortable with taxpayer funds going to these Islamic schools,” he explains. “But I should note that the state is also intentionally withholding necessary information to fully understand what is going on here,” Barrett added. 
Eventually, these programs will lead to government control over formerly independent and private schools. “There are already regulations: testing requirements, private schools must administer state-approved tests, and the results submitted to state,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”
“The controls may not happen in the first year or the second, but those who take the money will eventually find themselves under the thumb of the state,” warned Barrett, who is facing a barrage of political spending against him for opposing the “choice” scheme. “They will no longer be fully private or autonomous.”
Funding for the voucher plan is a ticking time bomb that will ultimately blow up in the face of those who supported it, Barrett has noted in the past. Other states, like Arizona, have seen the cost of their plan explode from the similar budget numbers Tennessee has deployed to a $1 billion a year. 

Steve Gill is the publisher and editor of TriStar Daily.