Virginia Legislature rejects school vouchers

RICHMOND, Va. — A committee of Virginia’s state legislature has rejected an attempt to amend the state’s constitution to allow for state funding of private religious schools. The Virginia House Committee on Privileges and Elections rejected, by a bipartisan 13–7 margin, a measure that would have begun a process to amend the constitution.

Supporters of government scholarships to students for use in private schools — commonly called vouchers — won a victory last year in the U.S. Supreme Court. That ruling said a Cleveland program that offered vouchers did not violate the Constitution’s ban on government support of religion, even though many of the vouchers were used in parochial schools. However, the constitutions of many states — including Virginia — have language that specifically prevents direct or indirect public funding for religious schools. Voucher opponents say vouchers are both unconstitutional and bad educational policy. But voucher supporters argue that they may be the only solution for some students trapped in under-performing public schools.