School Choice & Charters

Cleveland Voucher Decision Appealed To Supreme Court

By Mark Walsh — May 30, 2001 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Advocates of private school vouchers filed long-awaited appeals last week in the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the justices to uphold a program that lets Cleveland schoolchildren use government aid to attend private and religious schools.

Lawyers representing the state of Ohio and the 4,000 children participating in the voucher program filed separate petitions asking the high court to review a federal appeals court ruling striking down the program as an establishment of religion in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“This case presents in crisp, timely, and urgent fashion one of the most urgent constitutional issues of our day,” says the appeal filed by the Institute for Justice, a Washington organization that represents voucher families in Cleveland.

“Our goal is to end the uncertainty and establish school choice,” said Clint Bolick, who as the institute’s legal director has argued in defense of voucher programs in several court cases.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled 2-1 in December that the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program violates the First Amendment because of its inclusion of religious schools.The program, which provides annual vouchers worth as much as $2,250, has been allowed to continue operating pending the outcome of a legal challenge led by the major teachers’ unions.

Ohio filed its appeal May 23, and voucher families filed a separate petition the next day.

“These children need a chance,” said Roberta Kitchen, a Cleveland mother whose children use vouchers at a Lutheran school. “I equate sending them back to the public schools with death.”

The Supreme Court has passed up several chances in recent years to consider the constitutionality of including religious schools in government- financed voucher programs, most notably its refusal to review a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision upholding Milwaukee’s voucher program.

But many observers believe the justices may be prepared to accept the Cleveland case for review.

“Certainly, I’m not unaware of the general view of a lot of people that this is the test case,” said Robert Chanin, general counsel of the National Education Association, who has taken a leading role in opposing voucher programs in court. “We’ll just have to see.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 30, 2001 edition of Education Week as Cleveland Voucher Decision Appealed To Supreme Court

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Engaging Every Learner: Strategies to Boost Math Motivation
Math Motivation Boost! Research & real tips to engage learners.
Content provided by Prodigy Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
The Ripple Effect: Mental Health & Student Outcomes
Learn how student mental health impacts outcomes—and how to use that data to support your school’s IEP funding strategy.
Content provided by Huddle Up
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Another Judge Rules Against Private School Choice. Here's Why
Utah's education savings accounts violate the state constitution by giving public funds to schools that exclude students, a judge ruled.
6 min read
Judge gavel on law books with statue of justice and court government background. concept of law, justice, legal.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School Choice & Charters Texas Is Poised to Create a Massive Private School Choice Program
The bill’s passage represents a major shift in the state.
budget school funding
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Trump Admin. Tells States, Schools How to Use Title I for School Choice
A letter sent to state education chiefs pointed to two portions of Title I where states and schools can "provide greater flexibility."
4 min read
Image of a neighborhood of school buildings, house, government buildings, and a money symbol in the middle.
Trodler/iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Trump's Order Kicks Off His Efforts to Expand Private School Choice
Trump is directing several federal agencies to look into expanding school choice offerings—a push that continues from his first term.
3 min read
President Donald Trump talks as he signs an executive order giving federal recognition to the Limbee Tribe of North Carolina, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump talks as he signs an executive order giving federal recognition to the Limbee Tribe of North Carolina, in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 23, 2025. Trump on Jan. 29 signed an executive order that would mandate a federal push for school vouchers.
Ben Curtis/AP