ExcelinEd, EdChoice File Brief in Tennessee Supreme Court to Support Students
Statement from Foundation for Excellence in Education CEO Patricia Levesque and EdChoice President and CEO Robert Enlow on a joint filing of an amicus brief with the Tennessee Supreme Court defending an Education Savings Account program that would provide scholarships to students in low-income families.
“This innovative program would expand equity and provide educational opportunities to thousands of students who lack the financial resources to pursue learning options that fit them best.
“We are asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to agree that providing educational options to any child in Tennessee is a benefit to the state as a whole and, more important, a potentially life-changing opportunity for students to pursue their dreams in school and a successful life.”
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Championed by Gov. Bill Lee, the law approved by the Legislature in 2019 created an Education Savings Account Program that would provide a scholarship of up to $7,300 for families to customize their child’s education. The scholarship could be used for tutoring, textbooks, private school tuition and other learning investments.
The program is focused on helping lower-income families. The scholarships would be available to students in a household of four, for example, with annual income less than $66,950.
For more information on the transformative power of Education Savings Accounts, visit the ExcelinEd policy library. For information about educational choice programs active in 29 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, review the 2021 EdChoice ABCs of School Choice.
A copy of our amicus brief in The Metropolitan Govt of Nashville and Davidson County, et.al. v. Tennessee Dept of Education, et.al. and Natu Bah, et.al., Supreme Court of Tennessee, Case No. M2020-00683-SC-R11-CV is available here.
