In Knoxville, Tennessee, Dustin Park, the father of a high school freshman with Down syndrome, has joined nine other parents and taxpayers in a lawsuit challenging the state’s expanded school voucher program, known as the Education Freedom Act. Park credits Blount County’s public schools with successfully educating his son after struggles in Chicago, but he opposes vouchers because they required him to waive federal protections under the IDEA Act and because private schools are not obligated to accept students with disabilities or provide comparable services.

The ACLU of Tennessee, representing the plaintiffs, argues that the program violates the state constitution’s mandate to provide a free, adequate public education for all students, diverts taxpayer funds with little accountability, and primarily benefits families whose children were already enrolled in private schools. Plaintiffs highlight that the $7,295 voucher amount often falls short of the actual cost of educating students with special needs (which can exceed $10,000 annually) and that public schools are left underfunded, with crumbling infrastructure, unreliable heating and air conditioning, and severe staffing shortages.

Park and the ACLU contend that the voucher system is part of a broader national effort to privatize public education, disproportionately harming vulnerable, low-income, and rural students who lack access to private options. In response, the governor’s office defended the program, stating that it empowers parents to choose the best educational fit for their children while increasing investment in public schools, noting strong public support and over 40,000 applications for the upcoming school year, with confidence that courts will uphold the initiative.