Private school voucher opponents ask Tennessee court to block ‘rushed, haphazard’ rollout

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Governor Bill Lee, shown here in a local campaign fundraiser this week, has refused to repudiate the insults to teachers from a Hillsdale (Michigan) College President Larry Arnn, with whom Lee has partnered to established 50 new charter schools in Tennessee. Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Governor Bill Lee, shown here in a local campaign fundraiser this week, has refused to repudiate the insults to teachers from a Hillsdale (Michigan) College President Larry Arnn, with whom Lee has partnered to established 50 new charter schools in Tennessee.

By Marta W. Aldrich / Chalkbeat Tennessee July 25, 2022 4 min read

Opponents of Tennessee’s private school voucher program went to court again Friday in another attempt to block its launch as a rapidly growing number of families and private schools signed up to take part.

Lawyers behind one of two long-running lawsuits asked judges to halt the state’s work on its education savings account program, which aims to provide families in Memphis and Nashville with public funding to pay for private schooling.

Gov. Bill Lee has ordered his education department to roll out the program for the school year starting in early August, prompting the latest flurry of legal activity.

As of Friday, about 1,500 families and at least 76 private schools had submitted forms last week indicating their interest to participate, said Brian Blackley, a spokesman for the state education department.