Filed Date: 2012
Closed Date: 2013
Clearinghouse coding complete
In 2012, the Louisiana State Legislature passed Act 2 and State Continuing Resolution No. 99, which created a state-wide school voucher program called the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program (SSEEP). Under SSEEP, students who attended public schools that performed poorly on state assessments and which failed to meet certain income requirements could elect to use state funds to transfer to different schools, public or not. The state provided a “voucher” to cover the cost of a student’s tuition at a nonpublic school. The money for the voucher came out of money allocated to each student in the public school system. In essence, the voucher system allowed the state to take money earmarked for public schools and use it for nonpublic schools.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers, the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, one parent and one teacher of public school children filed a petition for a declaratory judgment, as well as preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against the Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). The plaintiffs alleged that Act 2 and SCR 99 were an unconstitutional use of State funds, as allocated by the Louisiana Constitution article VIII §13(B), which requires the state to develop and adopt a formula to determine the cost of a minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools, and to equitably allocate the funds to school systems, and unconstitutionally divert the per-pupil mandated funds, violating §13(C-D). The district court agreed, and ruled for the plaintiffs. The state appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
The Supreme Court of Louisiana handed down judgment on the case on May 7, 2013. The court carefully did not rule on the efficacy of the voucher program, but only its constitutionality. The Court upheld the district court’s decision that diverting the funds violated article VIII §13 of the Louisiana Constitution. They further struck down SCR 99 on the basis that the legislators had not followed proper constitutional procedure when enacting it. The court stressed the fact that the ruling was based on the idea that funds allocated to public schools cannot be diverted to private entities, and avoided the question of a constitutional right to education.
The court further did not address Amicus Curiae from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, and the Interfaith Alliance Foundation arguing that the school voucher program should be found unconstitutional for violating freedom of religion and separation of church and state (as the voucher would have allowed state funds reserved for public schools to flow to parochial schools instead).
According to the National Education Access Network, “the decision resulted in $200 million more in school funding to all the states’ 69 school boards...for the school year. However, it remains an option available to the state to fund the school voucher program through alternative means.”
Summary Authors
Rachel Carpman (2/28/2019)
Guidry, John M. (Louisiana)
Kelley, Timothy E. (Louisiana)
Guidry, John M. (Louisiana)
Kelley, Timothy E. (Louisiana)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:27 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Louisiana
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: 2012
Closing Date: 2013
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Teachers associations, individual teacher and individual parent in Louisiana.
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, None
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General: