Justice Department sues Louisiana over state's school voucher program

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Louisiana to block 2014-15 vouchers for students in public school systems that are under federal desegregation orders. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that 34 school districts could be affected. The lawsuit seeks bar the state from assigning students in those systems to private schools unless a federal judge agrees to it. The first year of private school vouchers "impeded the desegregation process," the Justice Department contends. The voucher program lets low-income students in public schools graded C, D or F attend private schools at taxpayer expense. This year, 22 of the 34 systems under desegregation orders are sending some students to private schools on vouchers.