By Chuck Morris
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion Wednesday that said Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account Pilot Program is not unconstitutional.
Tennessee’s highest court on Thursday agreed to take up an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the legality of a school voucher program allowing parents to use public tax dollars for private school tuition.(WVLT)
The Tennessee General Assembly passed the ESA in 2019 which established a program allowing a limited number of eligible students to directly receive their share of state and local education funds, which would ordinarily be provided to the public school system they attend, to pay for a private school education and associated expense.
The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Shelby County Government and the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education filed a lawsuit claiming the ESA Act violated several provisions of the Tennessee Constitution, including the Home Rule Amendment, the equal protection clauses and the education clause.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III praised the Court’s ruling on the ESA program.
