Supreme Court Renews Voucher Battle

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that the Cleveland school voucher program does not violate the establishment clause of the Constitution’s First Amendment. The ruling is expected to spur new voucher battles in state legislatures across the nation. Lawmakers in eight states-AZ, CA, CO, IN, MN, TX, UT, and VA-have already announced their intentions to introduce voucher legislation.

Despite the fact that 96 percent of Cleveland’s voucher students are enrolled in religious schools, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, writing for the majority, found “the Ohio program entirely neutral with respect to religion” because parents have a “true private choice” of where to educate their children.

The Supreme Court’s decision does not end all legal obstacles for school vouchers, however. Nearly every state constitution (all but Louisiana, Maine and North Carolina) contains some provision that limits state support of religious institutions. Thirty-six state constitutions include language that expressly forbids the transfer of money to religious schools.

Currently, only Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida operate state-sponsored school voucher programs. In 2000, voters soundly defeated two statewide voucher initiatives, by 71 to 29 percent in California, and by 69 to 31 percent in Michigan. Voucher advocates lost despite spending about $45 million on these two campaigns. Since then, legislatures in 26 other states have rejected voucher proposals.

In order to continue winning the voucher debate, public school advocates must be fully prepared to launch their own proactive strategies. For example, the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program in Wisconsin reduces class size and has proven superior to school vouchers in improving student achievement. For more information, see CPA’s policy summaries on SAGE and school vouchers.