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ACLU Responds to U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on School Vouchers
and Student Drug Testing
June 27, 2002
MIAMI -- The U.S. Supreme Court today handed down key decisions in two ACLU cases, upholding a Cleveland school voucher program and random urine drug testing of students involved in extracurricular activities. Both cases will have an impact on parents and students throughout Florida.
In the school vouchers case, Zelman, et al. v. Simmons-Harris, the ACLU of Ohio and a broad coalition of other groups, challenged the constitutionality of a Cleveland voucher program that has had the effect of funneling taxpayer money to predominantly religious schools. The court ruled that the U.S. Constitution allows public money to underwrite tuition at religious schools as long as parents have a choice among a range of religious and secular schools.
"Aside from its Constitutional interpretation, today's ruling will only make the necessary task of improving the neighborhood public schools more difficult," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida. "It makes no sense to think that you will improve the neighborhood public school by robbing it of resources to reduce class size, improve teacher training, increase student standards, provide students with necessary supplies or encourage greater parental involvement."
The ACLU of Florida and other groups are challenging Florida's school voucher program ? the Opportunity Scholarship Program that is a portion of the Governor's "A+ Plan for Education." The case, Holmes v. Bush, was filed in June 1999 on the grounds that it violates the Florida Constitution.
"Whatever an ideologically driven U.S. Supreme Court may say about the U.S. Constitution," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, "our Florida Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the meaning of our State's Constitution, and Ifully expect our Supreme Court to courageously uphold the far more explicit prohibition in our Constitution against diverting tax dollars to support private schools, most of which are religious schools."
In a striking blow to the privacy rights of students, the High Court ruled in another ACLU case ? Board of Education v. Earls ? that challenged an Oklahoma School District policy that required a urine test of all students in grades 7-12 who sign up for non-athletic extracurricular activities.
The ACLU directly represents the Oklahoma student involved in today's ruling.
