TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida state appeals court ruled Nov. 12 that the state’s school-voucher program is unconstitutional because it provides funding to religious schools.
The Florida First District Court of Appeals ruled 8–5 that the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, first created in 1999, violates the Florida Constitution.
The ruling upheld a similar 2–1 opinion handed down in August by a panel of the same court. Then, as in the new ruling, the majority judges said the Florida Opportunity Scholarship Program is unconstitutional because it allows government-funded scholarships to be spent at religious schools.
The Florida Constitution states that no state money “shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid … of any sectarian institution.”
The case, Bush vs. Holmes, began when a collection of civil rights and educational organizations sued the state on behalf of a group of Florida parents who believed it was unconstitutional. In 2002, a trial judge agreed with them and ordered the program halted. Bush and other state officials appealed that ruling.
In the most recent decision, the appeals court asked the Florida Supreme Court to review the case.
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