For Tennessee mothers, voucher ruling brings joy, pain.
A late Monday night court ruling has some parents and community leaders rejoicing for their children, a rare feat in the midst of an academic year puttering to its end after coronavirus-related health concerns have shuttered classroom doors. A Davidson County judge ruled late Monday that the state’s education savings account program is unconstitutional. The ruling is the latest in a slew of developments to the voucher program over the last year, including one that would advance its implementation by one year to begin this fall. The program, which allows eligible families in Davidson and Shelby counties to use public money to fund private school tuition, was altered before securing just enough support in the Tennessee state house to pass in a vote that has since prompted a possible federal investigation. And it’s one of the only education initiatives with funding not severely slashed by pandemic-induced budget changes. But the ruling has left some having to reconsider the financial support that they thought was secured for the upcoming school year, delivered at a time when many families are dealing with additional financial strain and frustrations associated with virtual learning resources. 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. Tracy O’connor and Tamara Henderson are mothers who fiercely support their children’s educations. Their opinions fall on either side of the program. O’connor, a longtime advocate for public schools, is part of a collection of public school parents and community members from Nashville and Memphis who filed one of two lawsuits against the program. The other suit was filed by Davidson and Shelby counties and the Metro Nashville Board of Public Education. In her advocacy, O’connor said she’s seen excellent teachers in public schools and realized how many of the issues public schools face are due to factors outside of education. “It’s not a simple fix,” she said. Henderson has completed an educational savings account application for her daughter, Trinity, who is ready to start kindergarten in the fall. The department has received 1,748 applications representing 2,526 students, with 910 from Davidson and 1,542 from Shelby, Victoria Robinson, spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Education, said Tuesday. If the program is canceled or delayed, Henderson said she’ll face a great financial blow, she said. She already pays private school tuition for her son, Trey. Based on his experience, she wants her daughter to begin her education at a private school. She found out the program’s future is up in the air during an interview with The Commercial Appeal. Among other financial and residential requirements, the educational savings account program stipulates that eligible students are those who are first time enrollees to a Tennessee school or are those who have previously enrolled and attended a public school for one full year. That means that if Trinity begins her education at a private school without the ESA program in place, Henderson would miss out on the financial assistance the program provides. “So I lose everything,” she said. Henderson has been sending her son Trey to private school for the last several years. He was reading at a third-grade reading level when he was 5, she said, but her family’s neighborhood school and charter schools she spoke to wouldn’t consider bumping him up a grade. He then grew bored and fidgety in his classroom. Instead of working ahead, he was labeled as disruptive, Henderson said. She homeschooled him for one year and then enrolled him at Arête Christian School. At 11 years old, Trey is a sixth grader, bumped one year ahead. “They let him grow,” she said of Arête. “They don’t hold him back.” Class sizes are small, she said, around 15 students. But the education is worth it for Henderson. A local business owner, she spends two hours each day dropping off and picking up her son. In 1992, Henderson graduated from Whitehaven High School as the salutatorian. She said that the Whitehaven Tiger experience she had wasn’t apparent in the public schools settings she saw for her son. But that very school pride has caught O’connor’s attention since she had her first child in the public school system nearly 20 years ago. It’s one of many reasons she’s fought so hard to keep funding in the public school system, she said. Though her father is a Memphis native, O’connor grew up attending school on a military base in Germany. In advocating for Shelby County Schools, she’s been amazed at the pride people have for the schools they came from. For example, she said, school alumni showed up in 2018 when SCS released a consolidation plan that would have closed some schools viewed as community staples. O’connor, a mother of five, has four students enrolled in SCS schools right now. She’s had experience with the school’s gifted students program, CLUE, and experience with the system’s optional schools. One of her children, diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, required an individualized education program, known as an IEP. “That made me aware of all of the benefits the school system could offer, as well as the importance of having to continually advocate (for public schools) because there was a shortage of resources,” she said. Diverting funding away when public schools still have so many needs doesn’t make sense to her, she said. While some students may be able to find other educational options, others may not. “Trying to divide (resources) up even more just didn’t make sense to me,” she said of the educational savings account program. O’connor said choice within the public school system exists; it’s a matter of making sure parents know about it. For Henderson, even though private education may be a financial burden — her son’s school tuition is about $5,000 per year — she doesn’t accept any other option for her children’s educations, she said. She doesn’t want to take any chances, she said. Though the future of the program may be up in the air, Henderson is determined to secure a private education for her daughter. “There is no ‘I can’t,’” she said. “It’s ‘Let me figure out how.’” She’s using the next months to figure out what to do. “And I will,” she said. “Some kind of way, I will.” Tennessean reporters contributed to this story. Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal.