Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is asking the state Supreme Court to take over a suit over school vouchers before the clock runs out on the program for next year. 

The Lee administration wants an expedited decision in the case brought by Metro Nashville and Shelby County. They say the voucher law violates the state constitution because it singles out the two largest counties whose school districts and local governing bodies opposed vouchers.

Nashville Chancellor Anne Martin has agreed, and she’s ordered the state to stop processing voucher applications until an appeals court rules. That order was upheld earlier this week.

More: Read the Lee administration’s filings here and here.

But the Lee administration says waiting for that decision could sink the program for the upcoming school year. Officials also say that, because it deals with questions of constitutionality, the case should be settled by the state Supreme Court.