Today, a three-judge panel unanimously dismissed the other lawsuit (McCall v. ![]() In yesterday’s update regarding school choice lawsuits, I noted that a judge recently denied a request to fast-track one of the two anti-school-choice lawsuits (Citizens for Strong Schools v. Please check back for updates.Ĭase Dismissed in Lawsuit Against Florida School Choice… Again | Drawnlines Politics August 16th, 2016 This is a quick post about a developing story. Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the scholarship program. See coverage elsewhere: Associated Press. “This sweeping ruling should compel us to focus on the real enemies – despair, hopelessness and the ravages of generational poverty.” It’s long past time for all of us who care so passionately about public education to put aside our differences and work together,” he said in a statement. “We call upon the plaintiffs to give priority to the 90,000 poor minority children in the program and drop the suit. Why won’t they let teachers and parents challenge this one?”īishop Victory Curry of New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, who serves as Chairman of the Save Our Scholarships Coalition, said he hoped the groups challenging the program could drop the lawsuit and focus on meeting the needs of low-income students. “The courts ruled a previous voucher scheme unconstitutional. The court says that teachers and parents and other groups aren’t allowed to challenge the constitutionality of the tax credit vouchers,” she said. “Once again, the merits of this case aren’t being argued. In a new statement, she said the union was still deciding whether to appeal today’s decision. Joanne McCall, the president of the Florida Education Association and lead plaintiff in the case, has repeatedly attempted to liken the tax credit scholarship program to a school voucher program the state Supreme Court found unconstitutional in 2006. “This is precisely the type of dispute into which the courts must decline to intervene under the separation of powers doctrine,” they wrote. ![]() The appellate judges held the case centered on political questions about school choice and education funding, and wrote that the ultimate “remedy is at the polls.” ![]() Further, the court called the diversion theory “incorrect as a matter of law.” “espite arguing that public funds have been diverted from the public school system, make no argument whatsoever that public school funding has actually declined,” they wrote. They also argued it violated the state’s prohibition on public aid to religious institutions.Ī trial court judge dismissed the case last year after finding the plaintiffs could not show the scholarship program harmed public school funding, and did not qualify for a legal exception that would have allowed them to challenge the program as taxpayers. Scott, in 2014, arguing the scholarships violated the state constitution because they supported a “parallel” public education system by offering children scholarships to attend private schools. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, McCall v. The First District Court of Appeal ruled the statewide teachers union and other groups did not have legal standing to challenge Florida tax credit scholarships because they “failed to allege any concrete harm whatsoever” caused by the program, which is expected to provide scholarships to more than 90,000 low-income children in the coming school year. ![]() Unspent money in the account rolls over from year to year and is refunded to the state if the student has not enrolled in any eligible post-secondary institution for three consecutive years following high school graduation.A unanimous three-judge panel this morning dismissed a lawsuit challenging the nation’s largest private school choice program. Students can continue to receive scholarship funding until they graduate from high school, reach age 22, or return to public school. Students aged 3 to 5 deemed “high risk” because of developmental delays may also be eligible. This scholarship is for Florida students 3-years old through 12th grade, or up to age 22, with one of the following disabilities: anaphylaxis, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, deaf or hearing impaired, Down syndrome, dual sensory impaired, emotional or behavior disability, intellectual disability (severe cognitive impairment), language impaired, muscular dystrophy, orthopedic impaired, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, rare disease as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders, speech impairment, specific learning disability, Spina bifida, traumatic brain injury or Williams syndrome.
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