School voucher supporters are lauding Thursday’s state Supreme Court arguments over the state’s appeal of lower court rulings declaring the program violates the Tennessee Constitution’s home rule protections.

Here’s what Justin Owen, the CEO of the conservative Beacon Center think tank, had to say:

We are pleased with today’s arguments in the ESA case and are optimistic that the Supreme Court will rule that this much-needed program can move forward. The local governments of Shelby County and Metro Nashville have stalled this program for nearly two years by claiming that they will suffer financially if parents are allowed to send their children to schools that better meet their needs. Even today, their attorney claimed that these students would burden the government financially if they were given the option to use an ESA to improve their education. Yet at the same time, the local governments admitted today in court that education funding in these two school districts would remain ‘roughly the same’ even if this program takes effect.

It’s terribly disappointing that these local governments continue to outright blame families seeking a lifeline from their failure to provide a quality education to these children. We are confident the Supreme Court will do what is right and look forward to their decision.”

And here is Shaka Mitchell, the the director of the Tennessee chapter of the American Federation for Children:

“We are optimistic the Tennessee Supreme Court will reverse the decision by the lower court and allow students in Shelby and Davidson Counties to access the Education Savings Account program. Thousands of families trapped in failing or low-performing schools had already signed up to participate when the program was halted as a result of the lawsuit.

School choice programs work. They empower parents with resources to find schools that better fit their unique needs and they foster innovation. These programs make both private and public schools create new and better options for all students. At American Federation for Children, we remain focused on students, not systems, and we hope for a favorable outcome in this case.”