Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation drastically expanding the number of families who can use taxpayer money on private schools regardless of income, a long-sought victory for Republican Gov.

The Tennessee House of Representatives approved Thursday, Jan. 30, an expansion of the state’s school-voucher program.

The Senate sponsor defended the voucher proposal against critics who said it favors affluent families: “It shouldn’t be based on income. It should be universal.”

The Tennessee state Congress passed Governor Bill Lee's heavily pushed school voucher bill Thursday, on what is expected to be the final day of the special session the governor called to vote on this initiative and several others.

A bill filed for school vouchers for Tennessee students has transitioned for a special session, finally mapping out the funding for how the initiative would even work.

The bill would effectively allow public money to be used by families across the state to pay for private education costs. It will now head to Gov. Bill Lee's desk.

Tennessee House and Senate education committees passed the governor’s private-school voucher program Tuesday, speeding the $450 million first-year expense to final votes before week’s end. Senators voted 8-1 to send the measure to the finance committee to be considered Wednesday.