NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected to rehear a case that rendered educational savings accounts constitutional in the state.
Back in mid-May, the Tennessee Supreme Court said vouchers were legal, which would mean Davidson County students would become eligible for vouchers.
Nashville filed a petition in court to have the court hear the case again, with Mayor John Cooper saying the voucher program would take money away from public education and could result in school closures.
"The Court has thoroughly reviewed the petition. The Court previously considered the issues raised in the petition in the course of its resolution of the appeal. The petition, therefore, is respectfully denied," the justices wrote in a one-paragraph opinion.
Enacted in 2019, the legislature established a program for students to receive money directly for their education rather than a public school system to pay for private education. During a five-year period, up to 15,000 students could become eligible for these educated savings accounts in the Metro Nashville Public School system, Shelby County Schools and the Achievement School District.
Lower courts, including the Davidson County Chancery Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals, previously ruled they weren't constitutional. That decision was appealed in 2021.
