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Court strikes down Florida voucher program
ACLU applauds initial ruling striking
down Florida voucher program,
calls for genuine education reform
March 14, 2000
The ACLU applauds today's ruling by Leon County Circuit Court Judge L. Ralph Smith declaring Florida's school voucher program unconstitutional.
"It is now time for the Legislature and the Governor to go back to the drawing board to develop real education reforms, rather than relying on vouchers that are unconstitutional and damage the public school system on which most Florida families depend," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida.
"While we fully expect the Governor to appeal, it would be better to focus on doing what's best for Florida's children rather than engaging in a protracted court battle in pursuit of an ideological crusade." Simon suggested such reforms should include the reduction of class size and shifting more resources to struggling schools typically found in low-income neighborhoods.
The court ruled today that the Opportunity Scholarship Program, a portion of the Governor's "A+ Plan for Education," violates Article IX, Section 1, of the Florida Constitution. That section provides that "adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education...." Article IX, Section 1, also requires the state to fulfill this constitutional mandate to provide for the education of all Florida children through free public schools.
The ACLU and other groups brought suit in June 1999 (Holmes v. Bush), arguing that Florida's school voucher plan violates both the Florida Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
