A statement from the Tennessee Parent Teacher Association on last week’s court ruling that killed (for now) Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher program:
Tennessee PTA was excited to hear that Davidson County Chancellor Anne C. Martin declared the Educational Savings Account statute unconstitutional. We were disappointed in Governor Lee’s funding cuts to education while maintaining $40 million for the ESA program in the most recent budget and request legislators reevaluate the needs of our public schools during this challenging time and move the funding for the ESA program back to the public schools.
The Tennessee Parent Teacher Association (PTA) stands in opposition to any form of voucher programs. Tennessee PTA believes our elected leaders must provide all Tennessee children with access to a quality public education. Public schools provide education to 90% of our country’s students and voucher programs such as this educational savings account program undermine our public schools by diverting desperately needed resources away from the public school system. Tennessee PTA recognizes that changes need to be made within the public schools to provide an equitable and excellent educational opportunity for every child. Vouchers, educational savings accounts, and other similar options do not provide the means for bringing about improvements in our public schools. Voucher programs have often proven ineffective in improving student outcomes, lack accountability to taxpayers and students, create inequality, and place the individual rights of students at risk.
Kim Henderson Tennessee PTA President
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Wilson County education advocate Kristi Dunn reports on a proposed budget for Wilson County Schools that includes some pretty steep cuts. Here’s her summary:
Yesterday was a work session for the Wilson County BOE ti discuss the upcoming budget. It was ugly and disappointing to the day the least. Our economy has taken a hit due to decrease in sales tax revenue, construction, tourism and property taxes. We have a $10.5 million deficit in the education budget to make up. The solution being proposed is to cut 41 high school teaching positions, 95 EAs, buy no textbooks, cut our Adult High School program which helps at least 145-150 students get their diploma a year, cut adult basic education program, cut all coaching stipend, mentoring stipends, all stipends for any band director, etc, no early retirement incentives.
The proposal comes just ahead of the return of the Tennessee General Assembly in June. At that time, legislators may decide to reinvest money previously allocated for Gov. Bill Lee’s now dead voucher scheme.
Additionally, a new report from Education Week indicates that districts across the country will face significant cuts due to the economic impact of COVID-19.
Almost half of the nation’s 13,000 school districts may be forced to make the deepest cuts to education spending in a generation—slashing programs and laying off hundreds of thousands of administrators, teachers and other staff—to fend off financial collapse brought on by the coronavirus.
“What’s so stunning about this recession is that poor districts are going to bear the brunt of these cuts because they rely so heavily on state aid and they don’t have the capacity to raise their property taxes,” said David Sciarra, the executive director of the Education Law Center, a law firm and advocacy organization which has sued states for having inequitable funding systems.
It will be interesting to see how lawmakers handle school funding in the mini-session and going forward.
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The Southern Poverty Law Center celebrates victory in case that is stopping the implementation of a voucher scheme in Tennessee. Here’s more:
When Lisa Mingrone taught art in a Tennessee school, her “supply budget” only provided students with a box of crayons, far short of the full range of art supplies they needed for the whole year.
Now a parent of a child in the Metro Nashville Public Schools, Mingrone has an even deeper understanding of the lack of resources – including a dearth of educators – in public schools. Those scant resources in Tennessee public schools were recently at an even greater risk of evaporating after the state Legislature narrowly passed a private school voucher program that threatened to drain more public money from two of the 95 counties in the state.
Mingrone and others scored a milestone victory this week when a judge blocked Tennessee from implementing the voucher program. The ruling came as the program is challenged by two lawsuits, including a lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners.
The victory stopped a voucher program that was poised to siphon off more than $7,500 per voucher student – more than $375 million in the first five years of the program – from funds dedicated for the Metro Nashville Public Schools and Shelby County (Memphis) Schools. Three days after the initial ruling, the judge ruled that the state could not implement or spend any money on the voucher program during the appeal.
House Democrats are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to return the money for his now stalled voucher program, saying it should be invested in teacher compensation as originally planned.
Here’s more from a press release:
The TN House Democratic Caucus says the more than $38 million dollars in state funds that Governor Bill Lee earmarked in the 2020 budget for his controversial voucher program should be immediately reallocated. The Caucus also encourages the Governor not to appeal the Chancery Court’s ruling. On Thursday, the Davidson County trial court ruled that the Lee administration cannot continue processing applications for the program. The state wanted to continue to prepare to launch the program this upcoming school year while appealing the court’s initial ruling against the State, which found the voucher program unconstitutional because it only targets Nashville and Memphis, the state’s two largest cities.
Democratic lawmakers say it’s fiscally irresponsible to set aside millions for an unconstitutional program and continue with a losing lawsuit amid a severe economic crisis. As the state forecasts an estimated $514 million dollar shortfall in the current budget year and $1.5 billion in next year’s budget, Democrats believe the vital funds should be redirected to fill the funding gap in our public school’s budget. Caucus members say the State has demonstrated a pattern of irresponsibility when using taxpayer dollars to fund bad decisions in education like the almost $1 billion dollars used to fund the failed ASD experiment and the botched launch of the TN Ready proficiency testing system.
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So, apparently, Americans for Prosperity paid for a texting campaign that reached a number of Nashville residents today. The focus: Signing up for Tennessee’s voucher program. The problem, of course, is that just YESTERDAY, that same program was halted by a Nashville judge as it was ruled unconstitutional. It seems like someone at Americans for Prosperity would have been aware of this and cancelled the campaign. Or, maybe prosperity just means the ability to waste ALL the money?!
Here’s the text:
Someone should maybe tell James about all this.
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Yesterday, a judge in Nashville found that Tennessee’s voucher law is unconstitutional. This effectively kills Gov. Bill Lee’s signature legislative achievement and means there won’t be a voucher program in the 2020-21 school year or anytime in the near future.
Here’s a nice summary of the essence of the decision thanks to WPLN:
“The Court finds, based upon the particular criteria in the ESA Act, and upon the legislative history detailing the extensive tweaking of the eligibility criteria in order to eliminate certain school districts to satisfy legislators (rather than tweaking to enhance the merits of the Act) that the legislation is local in form and effect,” Martin ruled. “Additionally, the legislative history of the General Assembly’s consideration and passage of the ESA Act confirms that the Act was intended, and specifically designed, to apply to MNPS and SCS, and only MNPS and SCS.”
As such, Martin found that the law violates the Tennessee Constitution’s Home Rule Amendment.
Gov. Bill Lee indicated the state’s legal team will immediately appeal the decision.
The ruling raises questions about what comes next for a program Lee deemed so essential he funded it in his emergency COVID-19 budget while simultaneously slashing a planned investment in teacher compensation.
Also worth asking: What happens to the $2.5 million no-bid contract awarded to ClassWallet to oversee the doomed program?
The General Assembly seems likely to return for a brief session in early June. Perhaps they’ll redirect the voucher funds BACK to public schools.
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Derek Black and Education Law Center have the breaking news: A Tennessee judge has found the state’s voucher program unconstitutional.
Tennessee’s ill conceived private school #vouchers get what they deserve: an early death. The cause wasn’t the seemingly corrupt arm twisting that led to its narrow passage but something much simpler: it was unconstitutional in form. That truth should stand the test of appeals. https://t.co/lVUqjhabxb
Tennessee’s school voucher program may end up being the ultimate solution in search of a problem as Chalkbeatreports few families are actually applying for the scheme.
Fewer than 300 applications appear to be on track for approval for 5,000 spots in the first year of Tennessee’s school voucher program, while a Nashville judge said she’ll rule by next week whether to allow the program to launch under two legal challenges.
As of Wednesday night, education department data showed 291 completed applications were still active, while 189 have been denied since the state began accepting them in late March.
So, in spite of aggressive marketing for the program, it seems that parents may not actually want vouchers.
What’s most disappointing about this reality is that Gov. Bill Lee slashed a planned investment in teacher compensation in order to fully-fund his voucher scheme. Now, school systems across the state will see less BEP funding while money sits waiting to be used for a voucher program no one wants.
Oh, and the private company managing the voucher scheme for $2.5 million? Yeah, they’re still getting paid.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
The Chancery Court for Davidson County will hear oral arguments today in two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s private school voucher law, the Education Savings Account (ESA) Pilot Program. The plaintiffs in McEwen v. Lee seek to temporarily halt implementation of the program until the court rules on the constitutionality of the voucher law, which diverts much needed public education funds to pay private school tuition in Davidson and Shelby Counties.
The voucher program was originally slated to take effect in the 2021-2022 school year, but Governor Bill Lee’s administration is planning to issue private school vouchers this fall.
The McEwen plaintiffs are public school parents and community members in Shelby and Davidson Counties. Their lawsuit, filed in March, contends that the voucher law violates several provisions of the Tennessee Constitution, including the “home rule” provision, which prohibits the General Assembly from passing laws that target specific counties without their approval. It also violates the constitution’s Appropriation of Public Moneys provision, governing the proper appropriation of public funds, and its Education and Equal Protection Clauses, which guarantee adequate and equitable educational opportunities to public school students across Tennessee.
“I have five children currently enrolled in Shelby County Schools, and our family has always actively supported Tennessee’s public school system,” said plaintiff Apryle Young. “I know firsthand that my children’s schools are in desperate need of facilities maintenance, counselors and other support staff, textbooks and supplies. They cannot afford to lose more resources.”
The McEwen plaintiffs will argue for a temporary injunction to stop implementation of the voucher program and prevent the state from diverting scarce public education dollars — now at greater risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic — to private schools while the court rules on the constitutionality of the voucher law.
“I am very worried about the effect on my daughter’s school and on all the students in Metro Nashville Public Schools if the state starts handing out vouchers in the next few months,” said plaintiff Roxanne McEwen. “Beginning the private school voucher program this fall will take away funds that are essential to keep our kids learning during this difficult time.”
The McEwen plaintiffs are represented by Education Law Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which collaborate on the Public Funds Public Schools (PFPS) campaign to ensure public education funds are used exclusively to maintain, support and strengthen public schools. The plaintiffs are also represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the pro bono law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.
“The state should not be permitted to push ahead with a constitutionally flawed program at the expense of Nashville and Memphis public schools that desperately need more, not less, funding and resources,” said Chris Wood, partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. “We are asking the court to temporarily enjoin the voucher program while the judge rules on the numerous constitutional and statutory violations asserted by the plaintiffs.”
The court will also hear oral arguments on several other motions during Wednesday’s hearing. Davidson and Shelby Counties and the Metro Nashville Board of Public Education will argue the summary judgment motion filed in their separate lawsuit challenging the voucher program. In addition, the state and intervenor defendants will argue their motions to dismiss each case.
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While groups attempting to stop Tennessee’s voucher scheme from being implemented make arguments before a judge, no actual vouchers will be awarded. This according to a story in Chalkbeat.
Chancellor Anne C. Martin is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday on nine motions that range from the state’s efforts to dismiss both lawsuits to requests by several plaintiffs to declare the 2019 education savings account law unconstitutional. One motion asks for a temporary injunction to keep the program from launching before the new school year.
Martin is expected to rule on several key motions in early May. Her two recent orders noted that the state, which has been accepting applications for the program since March 27, has agreed “not to notify any person that he or she has been approved to receive an Education Savings Account” before May 13.
Governor Bill Lee has made vouchers his primary legislative focus, even working to ensure funding for the scheme was included in his emergency budget adopted before the legislature recessed due to COVID-19.
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