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Heritage
Foundation
Louisiana
Court Rules Against
School Choice, But Educational Opportunity Moves Forward
By Brittany Corona
May 11, 2013
After
a series of school choice
victories across the nation, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a
disappointing
ruling this Tuesday when it upheld a lower court’s ruling invalidating
the
state’s school voucher program.
With
a 6-1 vote, the higher court
declared the funding mechanism for Governor Bobby Jindal’s (R) 2012
private
school tuition voucher program violated the Louisiana constitution on
grounds
that the funds used were earmarked for public education only. The
ruling
jeopardizes the educational opportunity of the 5,000 children who
currently
receive vouchers to attend a private school of choice.
Thanks
to the vouchers, thousands
of children from low-income to middle-income families across Louisiana
were
able to receive scholarships to allow them to leave underperforming
public
schools, providing a lifeline for families seeking brighter educational
opportunities. As the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice notes:
Nearly
5,000 children are currently
using the state’s voucher program to attend a parochial or private
school. Some
8,000 students recently were approved by the state to receive vouchers
in the
2013–2014 school year. It was unclear if these children would be forced
to
return to public school in the fall, as the Louisiana Supreme Court
ruled, the
program violated the state’s funding formula and constitution.
In
2011, a Black Alliance for
Education Opportunities (BAEO) survey showed that 93 percent of New
Orleans
parents were satisfied with the city’s voucher program (which Jindal
expanded
statewide the following year). And in 2012, nearly 10,400 parents
applied to
receive the scholarship for their children once the vouchers were
expanded. The
hundreds of parents who fought for the program’s creation also waited
on the
steps of the Louisiana Supreme Court this week, hoping for a favorable
ruling.
Student success stories detailed by the Louisiana Federation for
Children
explain why…
Read
the rest of the article at the
Heritage Foundation
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