NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Monday ruled that the state’s much-debated school voucher program is illegal and cannot be implemented despite education officials receiving thousands of applications from parents hoping to use public tax dollars on private school tuition.
Davidson County Chancellor Anne C. Martin said in her order that the voucher law, which Gov. Bill Lee signed into effect last year, violated the Tennessee constitution’s “home rule.” Lee’s administration had backed the legislation during his first year as governor, gaining just narrow support from the GOP-controlled Statehouse and strong opposition from Democratic members and public education advocates.
Plaintiffs in the legal challenge had ranged from Nashville and Shelby County, which includes Memphis; as well as parents opposed to education savings accounts. They had argued Republican lawmakers did not receive local consent when drawing legislation affecting local communities, which is required under Tennessee’s constitution
According to the law, the voucher program would only apply to Nashville and Memphis, the areas with the lowest performing schools and regions with Democratic political strongholds.
The original version of the measure included several other counties, but it was eventually whittled down after Republican lawmakers objected due to uneasiness about launching a voucher program in their own legislative districts.