Tennessee voucher program challenge heads to court today
Published 10:15 am Wednesday, April 29, 2020
NASHVILLE (AP) — A push to block a new Tennessee education voucher program that would allow eligible families to use public tax dollars on private schooling tuition is headed for a court hearing today.
The hearing in Davidson County Chancery Court will include arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Education Law Center, who contend the voucher program should be blocked before it starts while the court challenge plays out.
The state has argued the challenge should be dismissed.
The voucher program is scheduled to be implemented during the 2020-2021 school year. Applications for students are already being accepted.
The voucher program would only apply to Nashville and Memphis, the areas with the lowest performing schools and regions with Democratic political strongholds.
The program has drawn legal challenges from officials in Nashville and Shelby County, which includes Memphis, and parents opposed to education savings accounts.
