VOUCHER SETBACK IN FLORIDA

The Florida Supreme Court struck down a statewide voucher system Thursday that allowed children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense - a program Gov. Jeb Bush considered one of his proudest achievements. It was the nation's first statewide voucher program. In a 5-2 ruling, the high court said the program undermines the public schools and violates the Florida Constitution's requirement of a uniform system of free public education.

Voucher opponents had also argued that the program violated the separation of church and state in giving tax dollars to parochial schools - an argument a lower court agreed with. But the state Supreme Court did not address that issue.

About 700 children are attending private or parochial schools through the program. But the ruling will not become effective until the end of the school year. "I think it is a sad day for accountability in our state," Bush said. He said the voucher program had a positive effect because it "put pressure on school districts to focus on the underperforming schools."

The voucher setup was a part of an education program on the governor's part that also includes testing at virtually every level and a school grading system that offers performance-based rewards and punishments. Bush said he will look for ways to continue the voucher programs, such as finding private money, changing state law or amending the Florida Constitution. "I don't think any option should be taken off the table," the governor said. "School choice is as American as apple pie in my opinion. ... The world is made richer and fuller and more vibrant when you have choices."

Under the 1999 law, students at public schools that earn a failing grade from the state in two out of four years were eligible for vouchers to attend private schools. Chief Justice Barbara Pariente said the program "diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools," which are the sole means set out in the state constitution for educating Florida children.

The ruling was a victory for public schools across the state and nation, said Ron Meyer, lead attorney for a coalition that challenged the voucher program. "Students using vouchers will now be welcomed back into Florida public schools," [Amid rejoicing all round, no doubt -- NOT] Meyer said in a statement. "It decides with finality that the voucher program is unconstitutional."

Anticipating the possibility of an adverse ruling, the governor has been working on a backup plan to keep voucher students in private schools by providing tax credits to corporations that give students scholarships. Clark Neily, an attorney who argued the case for voucher advocates, called the decision "a setback for those parents and children trapped in failing schools."

The U.S. Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support the state. Voucher opponents included the state teachers union, the Florida PTA, the NAACP and the League of Women Voters. The ruling did not directly affect nearly 30,000 students in two other voucher programs for disabled and poor children, but it could be cited as a precedent.

Source

A feisty comment from Dick McDonald on the ruling:

Proclaim a victory for Karl Marx and all he stands for. The Supreme Court of Florida has ruled that a voucher system that allows children to receive the funding that would otherwise be given to the public schools be given to private schools of the parent's choice is unconstitutional under Florida law. Unconstitutional because it "undermines" the sick public school system our children are presently indoctrinated into.

In other words, the "state", that revered institution of Karl Marx, the Democrat Party, the MSM and the NEA wins another battle in the fight of individuals for the liberty our Founders promised. The leftists have again stolen the rights of the many for the rights of the few elite socialists who want to decide what is right for our children. The problem is that they are failing miserably and will not surrender their power to the majority of Americans, especially blacks.

Unlike the lower court, the Supreme Court of Florida did not address the separation of church and state issue; another issue leftists are using to stop competition from entering any arena especially the school system. But let's be fair folks, competition is the death knell to our socialist handlers. It would cripple the entire structure of the Democrat Party and their "socialist" special interest groups like unions, teachers, state employees, etc. all of which are directed by their socialist leaders without approval of their members.

And so the beat goes on: the individual versus the state. The deciding Court is the most overturned Court in the land next to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. They support unfairness in favor of their Democrat Party as evidenced by their totally irrational decision to ignore standards in the counting of ballots in the 2000 election. I call them the "Manson Court"; they support helter skelter if it serves the Democrat purpose. Here again, the only thing "undermined" is the rights of the people. The state has a responsibility to educate. It hasn't. So what is new? Just more Karl Marx and his worship of the totalitarian submission of proletariat.







Market forces keep students out of useless courses

Expensive university fees have been blamed for a sharp drop in people seeking a tertiary education, as demand stagnates for full-fee places. University admissions figures show applications for entry to Victorian institutions fell 4.2 per cent, compared with courses last year. For NSW and the ACT, they are down 1 per cent.

As Year 12 graduates prepare for next week's first round of offers of university places, data from the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre shows the number of students vying for a spot fell 1.6 per cent. "School leavers and their families are starting to raise more questions about the worth of going on to university," said Richard James from Melbourne University's Centre for the Study of Higher Education. "The costs of university courses have gone up" and that had been widely discussed in the media, he said.

The figures were delivered to Victorian Education Minister Lynne Kosky in a brief, which also revealed a plateauing of student applications for full-fee-paying places. "Preferences for fee-paying courses have barely changed, totalling 1725," the brief says.

Ms Kosky said it was clear that the federal Government's plan to increase university places through fee courses was not working, and students were unable to afford higher education without financial relief. "The FEE-HELP scheme is there but students are not picking it up," Ms Kosky said. "If that's an assumption the federal Government has made about the way they're going to grow higher education places, and the attitude is they can't pay either now or through FEE-HELP, that has some serious implications for the higher education of this nation."

The Victorian figures also reveal a sharp decline in applications by non-school-leavers. They were down by almost 2300, or 7.7 per cent. "They're the ones who've been applying year after year and they're obviously giving up," Ms Kosky said. The Minister said the data did not remove the need for extra commonwealth-funded university places in Victoria - a demand she made after a decline in federal revenue. "The shift is very slight in demand for university places. It's about 4000 students who miss out, so we still need extra places to meet the demand," she said.

Universities Admissions Centre data for NSW and the ACT shows Year 12 applications are down by 0.4 per cent and non-school-leaver applications are down 2 per cent.

Source

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

The NEA and similar unions worldwide believe that children should be thoroughly indoctrinated with Green/Left, feminist/homosexual ideology but the "3 R's" are something that kids should just be allowed to "discover"

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