EdChoice Legal Advocates Moves to Defend Tennessee’s New ESA Program

Press Release: For Immediate Release
December 1, 2025 

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Mairead Elordi
[email protected] | 317-986-8716

EdChoice Legal Advocates Moves to Defend Tennessee’s New ESA Program

Parents seek to protect educational freedom under the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Act

INDIANAPOLIS — EdChoice Legal Advocates has stepped in to defend in court Tennessee’s new education savings account (ESA) program against a lawsuit brought by opponents who seek to halt the program, which launched this school year and is designed to give families greater control over their children’s education. 

In February, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the Education Freedom Scholarship Act (EFS) into law, establishing an ESA program with universal eligibility for the first time. Participating families received $7,296 per student in the 2025–26 school year to cover a range of approved educational expenses. Money must first be spent on tuition and fees, and remaining funds may be used on approved educational expenses such as transportation, technology, uniforms, and more. 

EdChoice Legal Advocates (EdLA) represents two Tennessee families, Denise Fair of Jefferson City and Mike and Monica Sweeney of Knoxville. On Wednesday, EdLA filed a motion asking a Tennessee court to allow these families to intervene as parties to help defend the EFS program against legal attack. The Beacon Center of Tennessee is serving as local counsel for EdLA’s clients in this case.

Both families rely on the EFS program to access learning environments that meet their children’s needs and align with their families’ moral values. Without the program, these families would face significant financial hurdles in securing the educational opportunities they believe best support their children. 

“Behind every legal filing are real children whose futures hang in the balance. This lawsuit threatens to take choices away from families who have done everything right — families who simply want to place their children in the learning environments where they can thrive,” said Thomas Fisher, Executive Vice President and Director of Litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates. “Tennessee’s EFS law vindicates parents’ constitutional rights to direct their children’s education. We intend to ensure that right is not stripped away in the courtroom by political opponents.” 

The Sweeneys are using the ESA program to pay for all three of their children’s tuition this school year at a Catholic school. They previously pulled their children out of a different school and homeschooled them when the family became uncomfortable with COVID procedures. 

Denise Fair is a mother of six. She and her husband are both first responders who have worked extra jobs to afford the tuition at a private Christian school for their two youngest daughters. The ESA funds they received this year eased that burden. 

“The advent of the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarships has helped us keep our children with their friends and teachers at Lakeway Christian Academy and allowed us to scale back the part-time hours I am working,” the mother said in her declaration. “It has allowed me more time to dedicate to attending activities with the girls and freed up enough financial resources to allow the girls to attend some school field trips. A judgment or injunction taking away the EFS program would impose a real financial burden on our family. It would make it impossible for us to be able to afford Lakeway Christian Academy’s tuition for both of our school-aged children.” 

• Learn more about Denise Fair 
• Learn more about Mike and Monica Sweeney 
• Learn more about the case, via the motion to intervene 

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