Voucher Ruling Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
The future of the expanded Milwaukee school voucher program is now in
the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Parties in the case, including WEAC, have filed an appeal with the nation’s
highest court. They are asking the court to take up the case, claiming
expanding Milwaukee’s voucher program to religious schools is unconstitutional.
The petitioners include the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association
and the NAACP, and the case is being supported by the NEA.
“U.S. Supreme Court justices will have an obvious choice if they
decide to take Milwaukee’s school voucher case,” according to
WEAC President Terry Craney. “They can choose to uphold the Constitution
and strike down the expanded voucher program, or they can listen to the
arguments of people who want to undermine our system of equal educational
opportunities for all.”
Craney said that not only is expanding the program to religious schools
unconstitutional, it creates two unequal school systems.
“Religious school vouchers will drain resources and students away
from the public schools, leaving only the most difficult to educate.
“There are proven ways to improve education, like reducing class
sizes," Craney said. "We should focus our attention on those
methods, instead of politically-motivated and unproven schemes like vouchers.”
The court may decide whether to hear the case sometime this fall.
Posted September 2, 1998