STORY

Current status: Along with EdChoice, we represent parents who have asked to intervene in defense of Tennessee’s EFS program in chancery court. A decision on our motion to intervene is expected later this year. 

The Beacon Center of Tennessee, along with EdChoice, is intervening to defend Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program from legal attack.

Beacon and EdChoice represent Denise Fair, a first responder who is deeply dedicated to serving her community. Denise makes a modest salary, but she and her husband have prioritized their children’s education, both working two jobs to send their school-aged daughters to the private school that best fits their needs. The scholarships provided to their family by the EFS Program have enabled Denise to reduce the number of hours she works at her second job so that she can spend more time attending activities at her children’s school.

Denise is defending the EFS Program from a lawsuit that threatens to unravel school choice and, as a result, her children’s future. The lawsuit is based on a misunderstanding of Tennessee’s Education Clause. That Clause provides a floor, not a ceiling. It requires Tennessee to maintain public education, but it does not prevent Tennesseeans from using EFS dollars to send their children to private schools. Indeed, a marketplace of public and private options in education pushes all schools to improve for the benefit of students in Tennessee.

Case Documents

Parents’ Motion to Intervene