BREAKING: FLORIDA SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN SCHOOL VOUCHERS

AP

[SoFloFreeper]

TALLLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Supreme Court has struck down the state's school voucher system that paid for some students to attend private schools.

[xrp]

Constitution say schools must be uniform.

My interpretation: "We must continue to lower standards and cater to the lowest common denominator of society rather than offer students an opportunity to excel and be challenged so they may rise to the next level."

[LWalk18]

"No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious

It's not- I didn't realize that Florida had such an amendment. The Court ruled according to the state constitution as it should.

[linda_22003]

I agree with you. I have also never had children, but do not mind a chunk of my property taxes going toward our (very good) school system. Even if it did not provide for the future, the quality of the schools adds to the value of my property, since parents clamor to be in my school district.

[MineralMan]

"I'm shamed. I apologize:')"

No problem. My atheism does not make me misunderstand things all that often. I support religious freedom.

[Borges]

The other option would be to exempt people who aren't using the Public Education system from having to pay for it. Then the money would no longer be from the Public Treasury.

[Red Badger]

A few years back, the local Sup ventured the idea of eliminating Band (as a class but retained as a extra-curricular) and all hell broke loose........

[Zack Nguyen]

The first principle of the state is the promotion of the common good. So tax-funding of education isn't wrong in principle.

By the logic you use, that is correct. However, I would argue that the first principle of the state is to protect it's citizenry and to uphold justice. (Perhaps that fits under your definition.) In any case our public school system is so poor that I am unsure if public education qualifies anymore as the "common good."

My real argument, however, is that the civil government as designed by God (Romans 13, Pentateuch etc.) was never really intended to be the primary educator of the people. Like social welfare, it is not fit for it and doesn't do it well.

[VeniVidiVici]

Here in Okaloosa county, any student can go to any school in the county, as long as the parents provide the transportation......

Here in Seminole too. But by the parents providing the transportation really doesn't hurt they system. And, I would think that most 'F' schools are in areas that are poor so the parents wouldn't have the means to get their kids to a distant school.

[Torie]

"article IX, section 1(a) further states: “Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools.” For reasons expressed more fully below, we find that the OSP violates this language. It diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools that are the sole means set out in the Constitution for the state to provide for the education of Florida’s children."

Are you still in love with the idea of state constitutions John? :)

[Warren_Piece]

Yep. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. They may be idiots, robed tyrants, whatever. But the FL constitution is clear on this matter. It appears to be a correct ruling. Whattaya know...

Th FL constitution needs to be changed, if the people of FL want vouchers.

[Chanticleer]

Aren't vouchers only available in limited situations -- like when the public school in your area is an F school and remains so for a certain number of years, or if your child has documented special needs that may be better met at another institution (McKay Scholarship)?

Just who do they expect will benefit from such a ruling?

[XR7]

Nice to see Florida's governor leading the charge on this.
And his brother, the President.
It's too bad that after eight years of Republican control of the gubamint, the Dept. of Education and the teacher's unions are more entrenched and powerful than ever before.
Frickin' shame.

[summer]

Frankly, this is not a surprise from FL's Supreme Court. And, I suspect this is actually not over yet.

[MineralMan]

"The other option would be to exempt people who aren't using the Public Education system from having to pay for it. Then the money would no longer be from the Public Treasury."

---

You misunderstand a basic thing, here. The number of people who do not have children in school paying property taxes to support the public schools is way higher than the ones who do have children in schools.

If you exempt everyone who does not have a child in school, the system will be bankrupt within a year.

Schools are a public good, and are paid for by everyone. Without that philosophy, we'd have no public schools at all. I know some would like that, but how would they like all the kids who had parents who didn't give a damn about their kids' education running around in gangs.

Education is a benefit to us all, so we all pay.

[Borges]

In this case no rights were invented. They went by the letter of their State Constitution.

[MineralMan]

"Th FL constitution needs to be changed, if the people of FL want vouchers.
"

Prediction: It won't be changed.

[Red Badger]

I didn't say "teaching to the tests" I said "teaching the tests". The teachers get previous year's copies and pass them out to students to take in the weeks previous to FCAT so when it gets here they know "how to take the tests", wasting valuable classroom time learning the tests instead of the basics..........If you make the teachers salary and career dependent on whether their students do well on the tests, then they will do well on the tests, one way or another. Obviously they take the easy way out.......

[GladesGuru]

"no link yet...this is bad news for freedom of choice in schools."

The Florida Supreme Court is back doing what it does best - putting the "DUH" in FloriDUH.

Has anyone checked to determine if there is something in the water supply of Tallahassee that induces erratic insanity syndrome?

[XR7]

If you exempt everyone who does not have a child in school, the system will be bankrupt within a year.

And that's a problem?

[T]o compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.
-- Thomas Jefferson

[AzaleaCity5691]

I know in Mobile, roughly the same thing happens. (It's not an official policy). In fact, the one reason that we still have many nice neighborhoods in what are poor school district area (mine one of them) is because the kids in the area that do go to public school just get transfers out. I know people who lived within walking district of the high school we are districted for, and yet they both sent their kids to a school that in rush hour is a 25 minute drive away.