School voucher program takes hit
Judge rules against state
NASHVILLE - A Davidson County judge ruled late Monday that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program is unconstitutional, a blow to one of the governor’s top legislative victories in his first year in office.
Nashville Chancellor Anne C. Martin said the school voucher program violated a section of the state constitution known as “home rule,” because the law only applied to Davidson and Shelby counties.
As a result, the state improperly imposed the program on the two counties without their consent, Martin said.
Two lawsuits filed over the program each asked the judge to temporarily stop the program before it is implemented in Nashville and Memphis.
The law would allow eligible families in Davidson and Shelby counties to use public money to fund private school tuition, among other educational needs. It is Lee’s signature education initiative, passed last year.
“We strongly disagree with the court’s ruling and will swiftly appeal on behalf of Tennessee students who deserve more than a one-size-fits-all approach to education,” Lee spokesman Gillum Ferguson said in a statement Monday night.
Nashville, Memphis leaders call ruling win for public education
Plaintiffs say the law itself — its narrow focus on two counties, the way funds are allocated and assessed and
the inability of the counties to approve the plan — are all unconstitutional under state law.
One suit was filed by a collection of public school parents and community members from Nashville and Memphis and the other by Davidson and Shelby Counties and the Metro Nashville Board of Public Education.
“I am grateful to Chancellor Martin for safeguarding the resources in Metro Nashville Public Schools and Shelby County Schools, and the rights of all public school children in these districts,” plaintiff Roxanne Mcewen, a public school parent in Nashville, said in a statement. “Our public schools serve every child who walks through their doors. Especially in this time of crisis, our schools could not afford to have more resources drained away from them.”
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the the city, like others across the state, “must have the authority to determine how investments are made in the best interest of our residents.”
“We, of course, do not feel that vouchers are a solution for improving public education and will continue to advocate for both our MNPS students and educators,” he said in a statement.
Metro Director of Law Bob Cooper, a former state attorney general, had helped argue the case on behalf of Davidson and Shelby counties. “This is an important ruling for local governments in Tennessee,” he said in a statement. “It reaffirms the constitutional right of counties and cities to be free of state legislation that targets select jurisdictions without their approval.”
Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray called the ruling “excellent news” for the two counties as “we continue to champion public education and equitable funding.”
Senate Democrats also praised the judge’s decision.
“Public school tax dollars are meant for public schools, to serve every kid with a high quality education regardless of their ZIP code,” Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-memphis, said in a statement. “Private school vouchers break that shared promise by defunding our neighborhood schools, student by student and brick by brick. That’s why so many school districts wanted no part of this faulty program.”
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-nashville, said on Twitter that vouchers are “bad policy, bad politics, bad budgeting, and now bad law.”
“Hopefully, we can now re-direct the voucher funding to something constitutional that the state actually need,” he said.
Supporters say program will stand on appeal
The law, narrowly passed in 2019, was set to go into effect this fall, as Lee maintained he was committed to implementing the program despite uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 related closures and changes to schools.
In her ruling, Martin said it was “undisputed” that the ESA Act would only ever apply to the two urban school districts because it was based on past criteria, performance data from 2015, 2017 and 2018. She said the inclusion of the state-run Achievement School District, which largely operates schools in Davidson and Shelby counties, did not broaden the program enough to keep it from violating the constitution.
“The Court finds, based upon the particular criteria in the ESA Act, and upon the legislative history detailing the extensive tweaking of the eligibility criteria in order to eliminate certain school districts to satisfy legislators (rather than tweaking to enhance the merits of the Act) that the legislation is local in form and effect,” Martin ruled.
Lee has revised the state’s budget plan in response to the pandemic, but as of May, $38 million for the education savings accounts remained in the budget. The program was still scheduled to begin this fall, a year earlier than required by law. But in order to fully implement that plan, parents needed to be able to apply for the funds and confirm their children are accepted into a private school, if found eligible — meaning the process needed to start much sooner than the fall term. Applications for the 5,000 slots available for students are already being accepted.
Opponents say the law will unfairly divert “scarce” public funding in some of the state’s most cash-strapped districts to private schools. Supporters of the law insist it was a win for parents’ ability to choose where their children get an education, especially in areas with historically low test scores and schools considered failing by the state.
Pro-school choice groups immediately spoke out against the ruling.
“The number of parents that have applied thus far shows that this was a needed educational lifeline for families in Nashville and Memphis,” said Shaka Mitchell, Tennessee director of the American Federation for Children. “As the enrollment period is currently underway, this creates regrettable confusion for those families who had already applied or were preparing to apply. We urge the Attorney General to take the necessary next steps to appeal, defend, and protect the program.”
The Beacon Center of Tennessee, a conservative, nonpartisan think tank in Nashville, said Monday night the group “respectfully disagrees” with the judge’s ruling.
“Educational choice has consistently been deemed constitutional by courts across the country; this program does not unconstitutionally single out or even apply to specific cities or counties, it applies to underperforming school districts,” Beacon said in a statement released by spokesman Mark Cunningham. “For this reason, Beacon believes this program will ultimately be upheld by the courts despite today’s setback.”
Martin did rule Metro Nashville Public Schools did not having standing to challenge the law, only the county government.
“We strongly disagree with the court’s ruling and will swiftly appeal on behalf of Tennessee students who deserve more than a one-size-fits-all approach to education.” Gillum Ferguson, spokesman for Gov. Lee