Court Rules School Vouchers Unconstitutional.

• Position: In Cleveland, Ohio - Brief Article

A federal appeals court has declared a Cleveland, Ohio school voucher program unconstitutional, upholding a lower court ruling that the use of public money to send thousands of children to parochial schools breaches the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment's separation of church and state. In the ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said the Cleveland program did not present parents with a real set of options since few nonreligious private schools and no suburban public schools had opened their doors. In 1999-2000, 96 percent of the 3,761 voucher students attended sectarian schools, receiving up to $2,500 each to offset tuition. Voucher supporters promised to appeal the ruling to the...