Education Equity

ACLU-TN works to ensure that all children in Tennessee are given an equal educational opportunity regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, wealth, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

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The right to an equal educational opportunity is one of the most valuable rights you have, and all children living in the United States have the right to a free public education. ACLU-TN works to ensure that all children in Tennessee are given an equal educational opportunity regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, wealth, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The Latest

Know Your Rights
censorship in tn schools

Censorship in TN Schools: Age-Appropriate Materials Act

During the 2024 legislative session, the Tennessee legislature passed Public Chapter 782, which makes changes to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022. Hear are some frequently asked questions about those changes.
News & Commentary
A professor holding a lecture to a group of students.

Why Access to Education is Key to Systemic Equality

Here’s how discrimination continues to impact access to safe, quality education today, and why we’re fighting to ensure all people have equal access.
Know Your Rights
Frequently Asked Questions: Censorship in Tennessee's Schools

FAQ: Censorship in Tennessee’s Schools

Learn about how Tennessee's legislature censors teachers or employees of LEAs through the Age Appropriate Materials Act, the State Library Censorship Law, and the K-12 Censorship Law.
Press Release
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Parents and Community Members Urge Tennessee Court to End Voucher Program

A panel of judges for the Davidson County Chancery Court heard arguments in two consolidated cases challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s private school voucher law, which the state began implementing in August.
Issue Areas: Education Equity
Court Case
Nov 18, 2019

Butler v. Smith County Board of Education

Court Case
Mar 20, 2020

McEwen et al v. Lee

In May 2019, the Tennessee state legislature passed the Tennessee Savings Account Pilot Program, or school vouchers, which authorizes taxpayer-funds to be diverted from public to private schools. This lawsuit was filed on behalf of public school parents in both Shelby and Davidson Counties.