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Leon County Circuit Court Scheduled to Hear Arguments in Lawsuit
Challenging Florida Voucher Scheme
July 9, 2002
Leon County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Davey will hear arguments today on the constitutionality of the Florida voucher program, a portion of Gov. Jeb Bush's "A+" Plan for education adopted by the Legislature in 1999.
The hearing will be at 1 p.m. July 9, 2002 in Room 3-C of the Leon County Circuit Court, 301 S. Monroe St., in Tallahassee.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is a member of the legal team that filed the constitutional challenge to Bush's "Opportunity Scholarship Program." Plaintiffs include the Florida NAACP, Florida Congress of Parents and Teachers (Florida PTA) and parents and students in the public school system in Pensacola. The case, Holmes v. Bush, was filed in June 1999 and argues that the Florida voucher program violates a provision of the state Constitution that states that: "No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution." This provision has been part of Florida's Constitution since 1885.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a Cleveland school voucher program under the federal constitution. The constitutionality of the Florida school voucher program, which also funnels tax dollars through parents to private and religious schools, now shifts to state courts in Florida.
"We fully expect the court to courageously uphold the state's explicit prohibition in our Constitution against diverting tax dollars from needed improvements in neighborhood public schools to private schools, most of which are religious," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida."
Media Contact:
Miami: Alessandra Soler Meetze, Communications Director, 305-576-2337
ext. 16 (office) or 786-208-7203 (cellular) Tallahassee: Larry Spalding,
Legislative Staff Counsel, (850) 425-1050 or Ron Meyer, Lead Counsel,
(850) 878-5212
