La. school voucher plan ruled unconstitutional

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s voucher program that uses tax dollars to send students to private schools was ruled unconstitutional Friday by a state judge who said it’s improperly funded through the public school financing formula, the Associated Press reports. Judge Tim Kelley sided with arguments presented by teacher unions and school boards seeking to shut down the voucher program and other changes that would funnel more money away from traditional public schools. More than 4,900 students are enrolled in 117 private schools with taxpayer dollars, in one of the largest voucher programs in the nation. The judge said the method the Jindal administration, state education leaders and lawmakers used to pay for the voucher program violates state constitutional provisions governing the annual education funding formula, called the Minimum Foundation Program or MFP…

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5,100 new voucher slots available to La. students

More than 5,000 Louisiana students in 33 parishes can get new taxpayer-funded voucher slots at private schools this fall, under a law pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal that created a statewide voucher program the Associated Press reports. The state education department on Tuesday unveiled the list of private and parochial schools that have been approved to participate in the voucher program expansion approved by lawmakers in April. The final assignments and number of students who will take the seats for the 2012-13 school year will be set by the end of July. Superintendent of Education John White said he was pleased with the level of immediate start-up interest by schools, which he said was greater than similar programs in other states. He said he expected the number of voucher slots and participating schools to grow in later years…

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