AZ Voucher legality decision coming soon

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by David Safier

The Arizona Supreme Court has announced that on March 25 it will decide whether two school tuition-voucher programs for disabled and foster children should be allowed to continue.

By way of background, in May, an appellate court decided the Arizona vouchers for disabled and foster children were unconstitutional since some of the money went to religious schools. The other side argues that the money is going to the children, not the schools. So the pro-voucher people appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

This is the "widows and orphans" approach to getting the elephant's voucher trunk inside the legislative tent. "How dare you deny disabled and foster children the best education possible?" they cry. These are the same people who cut funding for education and children's services.

Similar voucher programs have been started in other states, which tells me it's an orchestrated national movement to soften the legislators and the populace to the idea of vouchers, which has been voted down every time it's been in front of voters.

Is this really a "trunk in the tent" thing? 

Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican from Gilbert who has been a strong proponent of school vouchers, said he hopes the Arizona Supreme Court will issue a broad opinion supporting school vouchers that can be used to justify the expansion of similar programs.

That's a definite Yes.