Ruling does not mean voucher scheme is legal, judge says
(Baton Rouge – July 10, 2012) A state district judge today said that the law will not allow him to temporarily halt a state voucher program that threatens to divert millions of dollars from public schools into largely unregulated private and religious schools, course providers and homeschoolers.
Judge Tim Kelly of the 19th Judicial District based his ruling on two statements, signed by State Superintendent of Education John White and Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater. Their affidavits claim that the injunction requested by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and others would cause the state to have deficit spending.
The judge said that his ruling will have no effect on the ultimate outcome of the lawsuit, which claims that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s school voucher program is unconstitutional for a number of reasons.
The Court will soon schedule a trial date to decide the questions raised by Act 2 of the 2012 legislature, sometimes referred to as the voucher law. In the meantime plaintiffs will consider asking a higher court to quickly reconsider whether an injunction should be issued.
Attorneys for the LFT and others argued that White and Rainwater’s affidavits are not accurate, and that halting the state from paying for vouchers would not cause deficit spending.
Judge Kelly said that he does not have the legal authority to question the validity of the affidavits, and must accept them. If White and Rainwater deliberately misled the court in their document, he said, they could “be found in contempt of court for filing a false document.”
“We have a situation in which two political appointees are able to sign statements that cannot be challenged,” said LFT President Steve Monaghan. “And on that technicality, dollars will begin to flow out of public schools until the constitutionality of the voucher law is decided.”
In denying the request for an injunction, Judge Kelly said that his ruling “does not eliminate any relief you may get” if the law is eventually found unconstitutional. “I’m just saying that I cannot enjoin” the state and block implementation of the voucher scheme.
Voucher schools may start receiving state funds on August 1, based on the number of students they will accept under Act 2 of the 2012 legislature. They may receive up to $8,500 per student.
On June 7, the LFT filed the initial lawsuit challenging Act, 2, and was soon joined by the Louisiana Association of Educators and the Louisiana School Boards Association.
LFT opposes Act 2 because it radically redefines public education, siphoning funds away from public schools and into private and religious schools, as well as the pockets of investment bankers, business and industry providers and virtual, online schools that will be extremely difficult to regulate.
The act clearly violates the state constitution, which clearly states that public education funds “shall be used to determine the cost of a minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools as well as to equitably allocate the funds to parish and city school systems.”
LFT also alleges that the funding instrument for education’s Minimum Foundation Program, Senate Concurrent Resolution 99, was improperly adopted by the House of Representatives. It is MFP funds that will be used if Act 2 is allowed to stand.