Ruling upholds private school vouchers for some in Arizona

Arizona lawmakers are free to give parents what amounts to a voucher of public funds to educate their children at any private or parochial school they want, the state Court of Appeals has ruled. The Arizona Daily Sun says the judges rejected arguments by the Arizona Education Association, the Arizona School Boards Association and others that providing funds that wind up in the hands of religious schools violates a state constitutional provision barring public funds from being used for religious worship or instruction. The ruling most immediately deals with the vouchers lawmakers approved in 2011 to students with special needs. But both sides in the lawsuit agreed that the court's decision eventually could be used to expand the program statewide and parents of all students in Arizona to use these vouchers to opt out of the public school system.