NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A Tennessee judge on Friday agreed to allow school choice advocates to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s school voucher program.
That means the Liberty Justice Center, the Institute for Justice and the Beacon Center of Tennessee will all have a chance to defend the much-debated voucher program as the case moves through the courts.
Earlier this year, Tennessee’s largest communities – Nashville and Memphis – filed a complaint alleging the state’s voucher program is illegal under the state constitution’s “home rule.” They claim Republican lawmakers did not receive local consent when drawing legislation affecting local communities.
School choice advocates are now pushing back, arguing that it’s important to represent qualifying families who want to sign up for the voucher program next school year.
“We’re confident this is going to be an argument that will prevail and educational liberty will be protected and that the school choice program is constitutional,” Arif Panju, a managing attorney for the Institute for Justice. “We’re willing to litigate this all the way up to the Tennessee Supreme Court if necessary.”