Florida Vouchers Dealt Another Legal Blow

State Appeals Court Finds Opportunity Scholarships Violate Fla. Constitution

For the third time, a Florida court has struck down the state’s best-known voucher program, calling it unconstitutional because it allows students to attend religious schools with taxpayer money—a violation, the court said, of the state constitution.

The latest blow to the 5-year-old Opportunity Scholarship program was dealt Nov. 12 by the full panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, which voted 8-5, with one abstention, to uphold an August decision by a three-member panel of that court that found the program unconstitutional. ( "Florida Weighs Impact of Ruling Against Voucher Program," Sept. 1, 2004.) The latest ruling puts the future of the voucher program, which now gives state-financed tuition vouchers of up to $3,900 to about 690 students, in further doubt.

The ruling disappointed Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican who has been the program’s chief proponent. Although he plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Florida, it is unclear whether that highest state...