The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Education Law Center, the Southern Education Foundation and the law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s universal voucher program on behalf of public school parents and community members who argue the law violates students’ constitutional right to an adequate and equitable education by diverting public funds to private schools.
Under the state’s voucher program, Tennessee public schools lose $7,295 per student to private schools that are not required to upholdthe same academic standards, transparency requirements or civil rights protections as public schools. This leaves families with less support and fewer protections and exacerbates existing inequalities. By diverting money from the state’s already underfunded schools to private institutions, the suit argues that the voucher program violates the Tennessee Constitution’s guarantee to provide students an adequate education through a “system of free public schools.”
The suit was filed in the Chancery Court for Davidson County, 20th Judicial Circuit. Plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
