Judge Throws Out Vouchers in Florida

A Florida judge Tuesday (March 14, 2000) threw out the nation's first statewide voucher program, ruling that it is unconstitutional.

Circuit Judge L. Ralph Smith said the 53 children participating in the program in Pensacola can finish the school year, but the state can take no further action to implement the law.

"Tax dollars may not be used to send the children of this state to a private school," Smith said in his ruling.

Under the Florida voucher program, students in schools that are identified as "failing" receive vouchers of up to $3,389 a year to pay for a private or parochial school education at taxpayer expense. When the program was launched in August, only two schools, both in Pensacola, were labeled as failing.

This latest ruling constitutes the most far-reaching rejection of vouchers to date, according to WEAC General Counsel Bruce Meredith.

“Ironically, the court in striking down Florida’s law relied heavily on Wisconsin Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s dissenting opinion in the original Milwaukee voucher case,” Meredith said. “Like Chief Justice Abrahamson, the court concluded that the private voucher schools were not public schools and therefore could not use public dollars.”

In Washington, D.C., NEA President Bob Chase called the ruling "a tremendous victory for families and children."

This ruling puts a stake in the heart of the voucher movement, Chase said.

" It sends a strong signal to states across the nation that vouchers are no substitute for a quality public education," he said.

The ruling is the sixth court decision in a row during the past year that has struck down a private or religious school voucher plan: twice in Maine, and once each in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

"The momentum is clearly on the side of public schools," Chase said. "The court's ruling today reaffirms the bedrock principle that public money should only be used for public education. The State of Florida must take seriously its obligation to provide a free, quality public education to all children, and stop diverting public dollars to establish a separate system of private schools.

"American parents don't want vouchers. They want good schools in their neighborhoods," Chase added.

He said voucher schemes are a diversion from the things that parents and teachers know make a difference – smaller classes, caring, competent teachers, and high standards.

"By diverting public money to private schools, the Florida voucher plan made those improvements more difficult to accomplish," Chase said.

Posted March 14, 2000