TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A state circuit judge in Florida has shot down the state’s school voucher law, ruling that the state constitution forbids the use of tax money to send children to religious schools.
The ruling by State Circuit Judge P. Kevin Davey, which came with only a few weeks until school starts in the state, left 46 students attending private schools under the program wondering if they will be forced to return to public schools.
Prior to the ruling, state education officials had said that the parents of several hundred children notified the state they planned to use the vouchers for the 2002–03 school year.
Gov. Jeb Bush promised that the state will appeal the ruling and try to prevent it from effecting the plans of those families wishing to use vouchers this year.
Gov. Bush had pointed to the 1999 law as one of his administration’s major accomplishments.
Under the law, students attending public schools that earn a failing grade two years out of four are eligible for vouchers to attend private schools, including religious institutions.
Davey’s decision comes a little over a month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that vouchers funded with tax dollars do not constitute a violation of the separation of church and state
Share with others: