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For lower-income kids in failing schools in Alabama, their chance at a better education has been halted by the courts. The state passed a school choice bill in 2013. Three lawsuits were filed against the program. Two were dismissed, but a judge ruled on the third one that the students in question had to stay in their current school districts until the constitutionality of the program can be assessed (via Watchdog):
Today’s [May 30] ruling is disappointing and another example of the status quo fighting to block children from attending quality schools of their parents’ choice,” said Kevin P. Chavous, executive counsel to the American Federation for Children, in a statement. “It’s shameful that a teachers’ union would put their interests ahead of what’s best for Alabama’s children. Too many children from low-income families are trapped in underperforming schools and the Alabama Tax Credit Scholarship program provides a necessary lifeline to these children.”
Money that has already been donated can be distributed to students, but no new donations can receive tax credits.
“It’s not going to take away scholarships from kids who are already awarded them, but they’re not going to get tax credits next year,” Komer said. “We hope by then we will have won on appeal and that the program will be upheld as constitutional and go forward.”3
Katherine Robertson of the Alabama Policy Institute called the decision a “politically driven attack:”
The decision cites a constitutional prohibition of appropriating funds to a non-state entity “without a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each house.” The drafters of the Accountability Act were well aware of lawsuits in several states filed by teachers unions offering a similar argument and thus, carefully crafted the legislation to negate the claim that government money was going straight to non-public schools by sending the refundable tax credit directly to the parents instead. Nevertheless, the Court found that the “intent” of the appropriation is for tax refunds to pay the tuition for students in failing schools to attend private schools; therefore, it should be considered the same as a direct appropriation to a private charitable and educational institution.
The Court further opined that donations to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs), which are entirely the prerogative of the individual taxpayer, are really just appropriations to these entities. In reality, every taxpayer in Alabama has the ability to choose whether or not to direct a portion of his or her tax dollars to an SGO. It is hard to understand how an individual who does so can seriously be viewed by a court as a mere pass-through entity of the state.
…
The aim of the plaintiffs in this case was to permanently do away with the Alabama Accountability Act, by way of an assortment of questionable legal arguments, to ensure that Alabama preserves the status quo and remains stuck in a cycle of poor educational results. The numerous technical arguments and the far reaching claims that taxpayer dollars were used impermissibly reflect an irrational desire to destroy a law that has given children stuck in failing schools first-time access to a higher quality education.
We shall see how this play out, but, on a lighter note; school choice programs have been a resounding success in states like Louisiana and Indiana. In Louisiana, the federal lawsuit against their program has been settled with the judge siding with families of the Bayou State; 91% of them are satisfied with the program.
Indiana’s school choice program has received almost universal support from families, with 99% of families saying they are happy with the program.
At the same time, school choice has proven to be an issue where conservatives can make inroads with demographics that don’t typically vote Republican. Case in point, Chris Christie was elected Governor of New Jersey in 2009 with 9% of the black vote; his 2013 re-election bid saw him garnering 30% of that vote. He nearly tripled his support by merely pushing school choice across the state. Now, that’s something that should have conservatives taking notice. This is a winning issue for us if marketed properly.
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