Written by Don Byrd
A judge in Louisiana has ruled the state’s school voucher program unconstitutional, because it diverts taxpayer funds to private schools.
The National School Boards Association also supported the lawsuit and said on their Website, “The law allows students to attend any private or parochial school that is approved by the Louisiana Department of Education, and many of these teach specific and in some cases extremist religious philosophies. Further, the program does little to hold these schools accountable for student learning or financial management of taxpayer funds—for instance, schools that accept less than 40 students with vouchers are not subject to rigorous accountability requirements for student achievement.
Voucher programs sounds like a great way to promote a key American value: freedom of choice. But what they really do is drain resources from essential public school systems, and allow the state to fund programs, including religious educational programs of all kinds, that could never be funded with taxpayer money otherwise. Private school programs including sectarian religious education should rise or fall on their own, without the prop of government support.
You can read the judge’s decision here.
