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January 5, 2006
Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
Criticizes Florida Court Decision Invalidating Voucher Program
The
Institute for Public Affairs of the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America – the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish
umbrella organization – denounced today’s Florida Supreme Court
ruling that the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program violated
the Florida constitution’s requirement of a uniform free public
school system.
The Florida program was the nation’s first statewide school
choice program and afforded parents the opportunity of
transferring their children out of failing public schools in
favor of more rigorous private or parochial schools. Since the
Program was introduced in 1999, approximately hundreds of
students, mostly of disadvantaged homes, availed themselves of
the program, many of whom could be sent back to the very same
public schools they were so eager to leave.
One silver lining in the court's ruling was that it declined to
rely upon the state constitution's "Blaine Amendment" - the
provision whose tainted pedigree harks back to the era of great
anti-Catholic bigotry in the U.S. And upon which school choice
opponents have relied in their court challenges around the
country.
IPA Director of Public Policy, Nathan Diament, issued the
following statement in the aftermath of the Court’s ruling:
Today, advocates of school choice across the nation were dealt a
defeat as Florida’s Opportunity Scholarship Program was ruled
unconstitutional. We call on Florida to consider revising the
relevant section of the State Constitution and enable this most
worthwhile program to continue to function past this June, thus
affording the children who represent Florida’s future a decent
and high quality education.
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