Chancellor Anne C. Martin, Chief Judge (Middle Grand Division)
Judge Tammy M. Harrington (Eastern Grand Division)
Judge Valerie L. Smith (Western Grand Division)
Plaintiffs, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, and the Shelby County Government, filed suit against Governor Bill Lee, the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education, and the Tennessee Department of Education, challenging the Tennessee Education Savings Account Pilot Program, Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-2601, et seq., also known as the ESA Act. Plaintiffs assert the ESA Act violates the Tennessee Constitution’s (1) Home Rule Amendment, contained in Article XI, Section 9, by affecting only two counties; and (2) equal protection guarantees of Article I, Section 8, and Article XI, Section 8, by providing for disparate and arbitrary treatment of Davidson and Shelby County. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief.