School vouchers spark more court fights

By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Students like Delano Coffy are at the heart of brewing political fights and court battles over whether public dollars should go to school vouchers to help make private schools more affordable.

He was failing in his neighborhood public elementary school in Indianapolis until his mother enrolled him in a Roman Catholic school. Heather Coffy has scraped by for years to pay the tuition for Delano, now 16 and in a Catholic high school, and his two younger siblings, who attend the same Catholic elementary school as their brother did. She's getting help today from a voucher program, passed last year at the urging of GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels, that allows her to use state money for her children's education.

"I can't even tell you how easy I can breathe now knowing that for at least for this year my kids can stay at the school," said the single mother, who filed a petition in court in support of the law. The state Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the law, which provides vouchers worth on average more than $4,000 a year to low- and middle-income families. A family of four making about $60,000 a year qualifies.

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For all the arguments in favor of vouchers, there are opponents who say vouchers erode public schools by taking away money, violate the separation of church and state by giving public dollars to religious-based private schools, and aren't a proven way to improve test scores.

Even among supporters, there's dissension over whether vouchers should only be offered to low-income students on a limited basis or made available to anyone. There's also division among black and Hispanic leaders as to whether vouchers help or hurt kids in urban schools.

Many opponents also dislike scholarship programs that provide tax benefits to businesses or individuals for contributing to a fund to pay for private school. They say those programs undermine public schools by keeping tax revenues out of state treasuries, an important source of education dollars.

Fights about using tax dollars to help make private schools more affordable are popping up around the country.

In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal won a victory Thursday with passage of legislation that expands statewide a voucher program in New Orleans as part of broad changes to the state's education system.

Virginia lawmakers recently passed a bill backed by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell allowing a tax credit for contributions to private school scholarship programs, and Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill expanding a similar program. Creating or expanding voucher or certain scholarship programs has been debated in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey and elsewhere.

But school choice supporters have faced roadblocks, too.

Recently, in Arizona, GOP Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have expanded a law passed last year that created education savings accounts for parents of students with disabilities; the money could cover expenses such a private schooling, virtual programs or future college costs.

The vetoed bill would have broadened eligibility to gifted students, children of military personnel or students attending poor performing schools. Brewer said it was too early to consider such proposals before a new budget is approved, and she expressed unease about changing the education system in ways that may make parts of it uncompetitive.

Democrats historically have shunned vouchers, but some are joining the push by many Tea Party-inspired Republicans. The momentum carries over from last year's congressional debate over whether to extefficer in the Indiana State Teachers Association who is the lead plaintiff to the state suit, said she's not opposed to private schools. But when parents choose to send their kids to one, she said, they are making the choice to pay for it.

"If they're not happy with their local public school, then they need to choose to make their local public school better, not run from it," said Meredith, a mother of four.

Pedro Noguera, a sociologist at New York University who specializes in urban education policy, said even with a voucher, many students still cannot afford or get into or find transportation to more exclusive private schools.

"As a strategy for creating more integrated schools, it hasn't shown that it works at all. So we have to ask ourselves, what is really the goal here?" Noguera said. "If the goal is to increase access to high quality schools, there's no research supporting it. But, there is clear evidence that as you lose children from the public schools, you undermine the fiscal support for public education."

But Pennsylvania Sen. Anthony Williams, a Democrat, says too many low-income kids stuck in persistently failing schools in some of the neighborhoods he represents in Philadelphia go to unsafe schools and can't wait for a change. He calls the private boarding school he attended in high school on a private scholarship a "lifesaver," and he's advocating for legislation that would create a voucher program. He said even if a public voucher wouldn't cover all the tuition, private scholarships can help fill the void.

"I believe a child should not be required to go to a place like that," Williams said of low-performing schools. "They should have options just like anybody else in America does and it will serve us better in the long run as opposed to requiring them to go to a place that we know they don't get the rudimentary skills."