NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to create a school voucher program in Tennessee is continuing to advance in the House.

The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville was approved 8-5 in a House education committee on Tuesday.

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 Dunn'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 failing schools.

The companion to Dunn's bill is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.