NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A group of public school students’ parents and taxpayers has filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new statewide school voucher program, saying that allocating nearly $150 million in state funding to help parents send their kids to private schools is unconstitutional.

In their lawsuit filed Thursday in Davidson County Chancery Court, the plaintiffs requested injunctions to block the Republican-backed law while the case proceeds.

Similar scholarship and voucher initiatives have proliferated in Republican-led states such as Texas, which passed a $1 billion program. States have increasingly offered vouchers to families beyond only the neediest ones, contributing to budget concerns as expenses rapidly pile up.

Tennessee’s voucher initiative allows 20,000 education

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