TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Feb 6, 2020

Shelby County, the city of Nashville and its school board have filed suit against the state over Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program, the Tennessean reports. The petition filed today in Davidson County Chancery Court calls the program unconstitutional and argues it puts burden on only two counties. ESAs are a voucher-style program that use taxpayer funds deposited for families who withdraw their children from public school. The program is limited to Memphis and Nashville, which the lawsuit claims violates the “home rule” in the state constitution that says any law affecting isolated counties requires local approval. The program is scheduled to begin next school year.