Legislation that would give parents the option to move a child from a failing public school to a private school is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor Thursday.
The proposal is sponsored by Republican Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga.
It's similar to a measure Republican Gov. Bill Haslam proposed last year that failed. The governor also failed to pass voucher legislation in the previous session.
Under Gardenhire's proposal, eligibility would be opened to low-income students in districts that have a school in the bottom 5 percent.
Haslam's proposal was approved in the Senate last year, but the House version was unsuccessful because it sought to expand eligibility to the bottom 10 percent of schools.
Opponents of vouchers say the money should stay with public schools and improve them.
