Tennessee ranks dead last in the nation in per-pupil funding, spending thousands less per student than the national average, even while sitting on record budget surpluses. Yet public schools are where the vast majority of Tennessee children learn, and in much of the state they're the only option: over 40% of rural districts have no private schools at all. Tennessee also has one of the highest per-capita homeschooling rates in the country, a sign that too many families feel public schools aren't meeting their needs. Lauren believes the answer is to invest in the schools nearly a million Tennessee students actually attend, giving every child, in every county, a real opportunity to succeed.
