Florida Supreme Court declares school vouchers unconstitutional
By BILL KACZOR of Associated Press
Posted January 5 2006, 4:33 PM EST
TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Supreme Court threw out the state's voucher system that allows some children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense, saying Thursday that it violates the state constitution's requirement of a uniform system of free public schools.
The 5-2 opinion struck down the Opportunity Scholarship Program, championed by Gov. Jeb Bush, effective at the end of the current school year. It was the nation's first statewide system of school vouchers.
About 700 children across Florida are using the program to attend a private or parochial school after transferring from public schools the state deems failing. It is part of a broader accountability program Bush instigated as one of his top priorities, including testing at virtually every level and a school grading system that offers performance-based rewards and punishments.
``I think it is a sad day for accountability in our state,'' Bush said. But he added the voucher program served a purpose because it ``put pressure on school districts to focus on the underperforming schools.''
Only three Broward County schools qualified for Opportunity Scholarships this year: Arthur Ashe Middle in Fort Lauderdale, which received Fs in 2004 and 2005, and Lauderdale Manors in Fort Lauderdale, which received Fs in 2003 and 2005, and North Lauderdale Academy Charter, which got Fs in 2003 and 2004. Three other elementary schools -- Sunland Park in Fort Lauderdale, Park Ridge in Pompano Beach and Markham in Pompano Beach -- would have qualified if they received an F grade this year.
In Palm Beach County, 91 students attend private schools on Opportunity Scholarships, down from more than 110 in recent years. Seven county schools had been eligible to participate in the program, including two that were added before the start of the school year: Delray-Boynton Academy and Riviera Beach Academy. Those two schools, which were recently converted from charter schools to alternative schools under the school district's control, received Fs in 2004 and 2005. Another five other schools (three charter, two alternative) with F grades in recent years would have been eligible this year - if they were unable to avoid a second F.
The ruling did not directly affect nearly 30,000 students in two other Florida voucher programs for disabled and poor children, but opponents said it should serve as a precedent to challenge them and similar programs in other states.
Bush said he will look for ways to continue the voucher programs, including private funding, changing state law and amending the Florida Constitution.
``I don't think any option should be taken off the table,'' the governor said. ``School choice is as American as apple pie in my opinion. ... The world is made richer and fuller and more vibrant when you have choices.''
Chief Justice Barbara Pariente, writing for the majority, said the program ``diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools,'' which are the sole means set out in the state constitution for educating Florida children.
Private schools also are not uniform when compared with each other or the public system and they are exempt from many standards imposed by law on public schools, such as mandatory testing, she added.
The ruling was a victory for public schools across the state and nation, said Ron Meyer, lead attorney for a coalition, including a statewide teachers union, that challenged the voucher program.
``It means that Florida's taxpayers will not be forced to pay for schools which are unaccountable,'' Meyer said. The public schools of Florida will welcome the return of these voucher students at the end of the school year.''
Justices Kenneth Bell and Raoul Cantero, both appointed by Bush, dissented. Justice Peggy Quince, who joined the majority, was jointly appointed by the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and Bush, then the Republican governor-elect, in 1998. The other justices were appointed by Chiles, a Democrat.
Bell contended there was no evidence the voucher program violates the constitutional provision's purpose to ``ensure that every child in Florida has an opportunity to receive a high-quality education by requiring the Legislature to make adequate provision for a uniform system of free public schools.''
Bush declined to discuss any specific plans to continue the vouchers, noting the high court has agreed to let the program remain in effect until the next school year.
``We will calmly go about making the determination of what the strategy will be,'' Bush said. ``We don't have a strategy yet.''
Clark Neily, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, who argued the case for voucher advocates, said they hope other programs for getting children into private schools could be expanded to pick up students who lose their opportunity scholarships.
Those programs include tax credits for corporations that give scholarships to poor children and a separate voucher program that lets disabled students to attend private schools at public expense. About 13,500 students get corporate scholarships and 16,300 disabled children receive McKay vouchers.
The 1999 law previously had been ruled unconstitutional by the 1st District Court of Appeal on grounds that it violated the separation of church and state in the Florida Constitution as most of the voucher children are in parochial schools.
The high court found no need to address that issue after finding vouchers violate the public education provision. The U.S. Constitution does not address public education, so that effectively barred any appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on freedom of religion grounds, Bush and Meyer agreed.
The law was challenged a day after Bush signed it.
More than a dozen groups filed ``friends-of-the-court'' briefs in the case, ranging from the U.S. Department of Justice, supporting the state, to the International Reading Association, supporting the voucher opponents.
Those opponents include the Florida Education Association, the state teachers union; the Florida PTA; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and the League of Women Voters.
Meyer said his clients have not yet decided whether to challenge the other voucher programs but that ``the same legal principles are present.''
The opinion also should set a national precedent because most other states have similar constitutional provisions providing for uniform school systems, Meyer said.
Posted January 5 2006, 4:33 PM EST
TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Supreme Court threw out the state's voucher system that allows some children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense, saying Thursday that it violates the state constitution's requirement of a uniform system of free public schools.
The 5-2 opinion struck down the Opportunity Scholarship Program, championed by Gov. Jeb Bush, effective at the end of the current school year. It was the nation's first statewide system of school vouchers.
About 700 children across Florida are using the program to attend a private or parochial school after transferring from public schools the state deems failing. It is part of a broader accountability program Bush instigated as one of his top priorities, including testing at virtually every level and a school grading system that offers performance-based rewards and punishments.
``I think it is a sad day for accountability in our state,'' Bush said. But he added the voucher program served a purpose because it ``put pressure on school districts to focus on the underperforming schools.''
Only three Broward County schools qualified for Opportunity Scholarships this year: Arthur Ashe Middle in Fort Lauderdale, which received Fs in 2004 and 2005, and Lauderdale Manors in Fort Lauderdale, which received Fs in 2003 and 2005, and North Lauderdale Academy Charter, which got Fs in 2003 and 2004. Three other elementary schools -- Sunland Park in Fort Lauderdale, Park Ridge in Pompano Beach and Markham in Pompano Beach -- would have qualified if they received an F grade this year.
In Palm Beach County, 91 students attend private schools on Opportunity Scholarships, down from more than 110 in recent years. Seven county schools had been eligible to participate in the program, including two that were added before the start of the school year: Delray-Boynton Academy and Riviera Beach Academy. Those two schools, which were recently converted from charter schools to alternative schools under the school district's control, received Fs in 2004 and 2005. Another five other schools (three charter, two alternative) with F grades in recent years would have been eligible this year - if they were unable to avoid a second F.
The ruling did not directly affect nearly 30,000 students in two other Florida voucher programs for disabled and poor children, but opponents said it should serve as a precedent to challenge them and similar programs in other states.
Bush said he will look for ways to continue the voucher programs, including private funding, changing state law and amending the Florida Constitution.
``I don't think any option should be taken off the table,'' the governor said. ``School choice is as American as apple pie in my opinion. ... The world is made richer and fuller and more vibrant when you have choices.''
Chief Justice Barbara Pariente, writing for the majority, said the program ``diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools,'' which are the sole means set out in the state constitution for educating Florida children.
Private schools also are not uniform when compared with each other or the public system and they are exempt from many standards imposed by law on public schools, such as mandatory testing, she added.
The ruling was a victory for public schools across the state and nation, said Ron Meyer, lead attorney for a coalition, including a statewide teachers union, that challenged the voucher program.
``It means that Florida's taxpayers will not be forced to pay for schools which are unaccountable,'' Meyer said. The public schools of Florida will welcome the return of these voucher students at the end of the school year.''
Justices Kenneth Bell and Raoul Cantero, both appointed by Bush, dissented. Justice Peggy Quince, who joined the majority, was jointly appointed by the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and Bush, then the Republican governor-elect, in 1998. The other justices were appointed by Chiles, a Democrat.
Bell contended there was no evidence the voucher program violates the constitutional provision's purpose to ``ensure that every child in Florida has an opportunity to receive a high-quality education by requiring the Legislature to make adequate provision for a uniform system of free public schools.''
Bush declined to discuss any specific plans to continue the vouchers, noting the high court has agreed to let the program remain in effect until the next school year.
``We will calmly go about making the determination of what the strategy will be,'' Bush said. ``We don't have a strategy yet.''
Clark Neily, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, who argued the case for voucher advocates, said they hope other programs for getting children into private schools could be expanded to pick up students who lose their opportunity scholarships.
Those programs include tax credits for corporations that give scholarships to poor children and a separate voucher program that lets disabled students to attend private schools at public expense. About 13,500 students get corporate scholarships and 16,300 disabled children receive McKay vouchers.
The 1999 law previously had been ruled unconstitutional by the 1st District Court of Appeal on grounds that it violated the separation of church and state in the Florida Constitution as most of the voucher children are in parochial schools.
The high court found no need to address that issue after finding vouchers violate the public education provision. The U.S. Constitution does not address public education, so that effectively barred any appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on freedom of religion grounds, Bush and Meyer agreed.
The law was challenged a day after Bush signed it.
More than a dozen groups filed ``friends-of-the-court'' briefs in the case, ranging from the U.S. Department of Justice, supporting the state, to the International Reading Association, supporting the voucher opponents.
Those opponents include the Florida Education Association, the state teachers union; the Florida PTA; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and the League of Women Voters.
Meyer said his clients have not yet decided whether to challenge the other voucher programs but that ``the same legal principles are present.''
The opinion also should set a national precedent because most other states have similar constitutional provisions providing for uniform school systems, Meyer said.
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