Thursday, May 16, 2013

Indiana High Court Missteps on Vouchers

This letter was published in Education Week on May 15, 2013 ----


Regarding "Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Voucher Law" (News in Brief, April 3, 2013): In upholding the Republican-sponsored school voucher plan, the Indiana Supreme Court sanctioned the state's doing indirectly what Article I, Section 6 of the state constitution says may not be done directly -- divert funds from the treasury to benefit "any religious or theological institution."

Had the legislature had the decency to propose an appropriate amendment to the state constitution, to allow voters to say yea or nay, the voucher plan would not have survived a popular vote, just as state schools superintendent Tony Bennett, a voucher supporter, failed to survive his bid for re-election last November.

The ruling was hardly a good lesson in ethics for Hoosier children.

Edd Doerr
President
Americans for Religious Liberty
Silver Spring, MD

(The writer previously taught in pub,kic schools in Indiana.)


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