A three-judge panel of the Davidson County Chancery Court dismissed a constitutional challenge to Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act, ruling the state’s school voucher program does not violate the Tennessee Constitution’s education clause.
In an October 19 final order in Apryle Young, et al. v. Bill Lee, et al., the court granted motions to dismiss filed by state officials and parents who intervened to defend the law, entering judgment in favor of the defendants. The ruling ends the plaintiffs’ challenge at the trial-court level.
The plaintiffs, a group of parents and taxpayers, argued that the program unconstitutionally directs public funds to private schools and undermines the state’s ability to adequately fund public education.
The panel concluded the education clause does not prohibit public funding for nonpublic education and that the plaintiffs failed to state a viable funding adequacy claim against state defendants based on their administration of the scholarship law.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti cheered the decision, calling it a victory for school choice and the state’s authority to establish education policy.
“The Court’s decision is an important victory for educational freedom and for the State’s authority to establish education policy consistent with our Constitution,” Skrmetti said. “The Education Freedom Scholarship Act reflects the State’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities for Tennessee families. This ruling affirms that the Tennessee Constitution’s Education Clause does not prohibit the State from supporting school choice.”
The Beacon Center of Tennessee, which intervened alongside EdChoice to defend the program, also celebrated the ruling. The organizations represent Denise Fair, a first responder whose family uses the scholarships to help pay private-school tuition for their daughters.
🎉 Victory for Education Freedom in Tennessee! 🎉
Along with our friends at @edchoice, Beacon went to court to represent parents who are defending Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship program. Yesterday, the three-judge trial court panel ruled in our favor! While we expect…
— Beacon Center of TN (@BeaconTN) October 20, 2026
According to the Beacon Center, the scholarships have allowed Fair to reduce her hours at a second job so she can spend more time at school activities with her children.
The organization argued that Tennessee’s education clause requires the state to maintain public education but does not prohibit families from using scholarship funds to attend private schools.
The Beacon Center also contended that “a marketplace of public and private options in education pushes all schools to improve for the benefit of students in Tennessee.”
Governor Bill Lee signed the Education Freedom Scholarship Act into law in February 2025, initially authorizing up to 20,000 scholarships for the 2025-26 school year. A 2026 expansion increased the cap to 35,000 for the 2026-27 school year.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
