With plans to start the Utah voucher program this fall, it will be interesting to see how many worm their way into court to put a lid on making vouchers available for all public school students. Payout for the first year is estimated to be $9.3 for about 3,000 interested in moving from public to private education. The only students currently in private school that will be given voucher help will be those from low-income families already qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches. As one might expect, groups are debating the legalities of the statewide program.
We’re very, very concerned about the program, not just from an education policy standpoint, but from a legal standpoint,” said Judith E. Schaeffer, the associate legal director for the People for the American Way, a Washington-based liberal advocacy group that has challenged the constitutionality of voucher programs elsewhere.
Her group is one of several that are considering filing suit on the grounds that the new law violates a provision of the Utah Constitution barring aid to schools controlled by religious organizations.
But proponents of the program—which would offer tuition vouchers ranging from $500 to $3,000 per year, based on family income, to any student who wanted to attend a private school—contend that the new program will survive legal scrutiny and join a more limited voucher program in Utah that, so far, has not been challenged.
Utah has allowed vouchers for private school use of up to $5,700 each for students with disabilities since 2005. So far, these vouchers have not been challenged in court.
I'm sure there will be a slitherfest as people line up on both sides to wrangle over the pros and cons of Utah's vouchers.