Give kids a choice

Education | Florida voucher decision is no death-blow to school choice | Lynn Vincent

When the Florida Supreme Court tossed the state's Opportunity Scholarship program out on its ear on Jan. 5, some called the decision the beginning of the end of school vouchers. A 5-2 majority ruled that the nation's only statewide voucher plan undermined the Florida Constitution's "uniformity" clause, which requires the state to create a "uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high-quality system of free public education." Opportunity Scholarships disrupt uniformity, the court held, because they rob public schools of resources.

Florida School Boards Association executive director Wayne Blanton, who opposes school choice, called the ruling a "killing blow" to voucher expansion in Florida and other states.