Parents of public school students and taxpayers sue Tennessee over ‘unconstitutional’ $150 million private school voucher program

In their lawsuit filed Thursday in Davidson County Chancery Court, the plaintiffs requested injunctions to block the Republican-backed law while the case proceeds.

Similar scholarship and voucher initiatives have proliferated in Republican-led states such as Texas, which passed a $1 billion program. States have increasingly offered vouchers to families beyond only the neediest ones, contributing to budget concerns as expenses rapidly pile up.

Although voucher programs have been around for years, they have exploded in popularity in Republican-led states. Some conservatives are critical of how public schools teach about race, sexuality and other subjects, and think they were too slow to reopen during the pandemic. Unlike at private schools, most public school teachers are unionized, and teachers unions generally back Democrats.

Tennessee’s voucher initiative allows 20,000 education vouchers of about $7,300 each for the 2025-26 school year. Half go to specific categories of students, such are those who are lower income or disabled. Any student entitled to attend a public school can apply for one of the remaining 10,000. Students who were already enrolled in private schools, including religious ones, are eligible.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who pushed for the initiative, has indicated that he wants to seek funding for more vouchers during the coming legislative session. His office says more than 40,000 families have applied for the program.

The lawsuit argues that the Tennessee Constitution includes an obligation to provide a system of free public schools and does not allow for the state to to maintain and support K-12 schools outside of the public school system.

It says schools that participate “may deny admission or otherwise discriminate based on race, disability, religion, English proficiency, LGBTQ+ status, academic ability, or other criteria.” They are not required to provide services that public schools must offer, such as special education, and are not free to attend, the lawsuit states.

Additionally, the private schools accepting vouchers are not required to administer the full Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, which public schools must, and can instead opt for a national standardized test, the lawsuit says.

The initiative also reduces funding for public schools below an already inadequate level, further violating the state constitution’s guarantee of public schools that offer all students the opportunity to receive an adequate education, the plaintiffs contend.

The law has a “hold harmless” provision that adds more money to school districts that have students disenroll to attend private school on a voucher. But the lawsuit says it “does not meaningfully compensate for the loss of funds from public schools.”

“Tennessee’s Constitution is clear: the state must maintain and support a system of free public schools,” said Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, one of the legal groups representing the plaintiffs. “This voucher scheme does the opposite. It siphons desperately needed resources away from public schools that serve all students and hands that money to private schools with no accountability, no transparency, and no obligation to serve every child.”

The Legislature’s Republican supermajority passed the statewide voucher program earlier this year at Lee’s request.

Lee’s office said it is confident the court will uphold the law and looks forward to serving more students when applications open for the 2026-27 school year.

“Every child deserves an opportunity to succeed, and the Education Freedom Act empowers Tennessee parents to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs while further investing in public schools,” Lee’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Lane Johnson, said in a statement.

Previously, the state had a two-county school voucher program for lower-income students in Nashville and Shelby County, which includes Memphis. That initiative was passed in 2019 and delayed in the courts, but ultimately allowed to proceed. It was expanded to Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga, before passage of the new statewide program.