NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled the plaintiffs in a previous lawsuit over school vouchers can in fact sue over the law.
A three-judge panel with the appeals court ruled the original plaintiffs in McEwen v. Lee have the right to sue the governor and the state of Tennessee over the Education Savings Account (ESA) program, also called school vouchers.
The panel reversed a lower court decision that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the ESA program. It now allows that case to move forward.
The ESA law, passed in 2019, allows families in Davidson and Shelby counties to use tax dollars toward the cost of private school tuition or other approved educational expenses. It was later amended to include Hamilton County schools.
Gov. Bill Lee recently announced plans to expand the program statewide through the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
Critics of the law say it funnels money away from public schools in favor of private schools, and private schools are not subject to the same accountability measures as the state's public schools. Supporters say the law is about the right to school choice for Tennessee parents and allow for students to pursue better educational opportunities.
"This voucher program takes precious funding from our public school, and it must be challenged," said Roxanne McEwen, one of the plaintiffs in the case whose children attend Metro Nashville Public Schools and for whom the suit gets its name. "I'm very happy the court has recognized that we are entitled to have our voices heard."
Parents and community members in Nashville and Memphis filed suit in 2020, arguing that the law illegally diverts taxpayer funds appropriated for public schools in those counties, to private education uses. They said in the suit that the program violates the Tennessee Constitution and state law and exacerbates the underfunding of public schools in Davidson and Shelby counties.
The state argued the McEwen plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit over the program and that the dispute was not "ripe," meaning it was not yet time for the court to hear the case. That claim was based on the fact that no school districts had yet lost funding.
A lower court agreed with the state, but a three-judge panel in the Tennessee Court of Appeals unanimously rejected those arguments. They ruled the plaintiffs had established standing both as parents of public school students in the affected districts, alleging harm from the program's diversion of education funding to private schools, and as taxpayers contesting an illegal use of public dollars.
The panel also ruled the case was ripe, stating the plaintiffs showed they were being harmed by the law "in the here and now, not in a hypothetical future scenario."
The state began enforcing the ESA law starting in the 2022-2023 school year.
News 2 has reached out to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office for comment.
from WKRN News 2 https://ift.tt/WjqdVEO
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