Florida Court Rules Against Religious School Vouchers
By GREG WINTER
Published: August 17, 2004
A Florida appeals court ruled yesterday that a voucher program for students in failing schools violated the state's Constitution because it sent public money to religious institutions.
In a 2-to-1 decision, the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee found that the "vast majority" of students with vouchers used them to enroll in the kind of "sectarian institutions," or religious schools, that are barred from receiving state money under the Florida Constitution.
Most state constitutions prohibit or restrict state money from being spent on religious institutions, and that remains one of the principal legal barriers to the widespread adoption of school vouchers.
The United States Supreme Court has said the nation's Constitution does not bar school vouchers. But it also ruled this year that states that gave money for secular education were not compelled to support religious instruction as well, essentially leaving the issue to state courts.
That has placed a focus on the battle over Florida's voucher program. Not only does it take place in a populous state, but it is also one of the first legal contests since the Supreme Court affirmed the role of state constitutions in deciding the fate of vouchers.
"The Florida case is really the bellwether that everyone is looking at," said Mark E. DeForrest, an assistant professor at Gonzaga University School of Law, whose research was cited by the Florida appeals court. "It's something that almost all the other states will look at closely. They're not going to be bound by it, but they're definitely going to be influenced by it."...
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/17/education/17voucher.html