Media Center

Arizona Supreme Court Places Key Education Reform Programs in Jeopardy

03/25/09

Washington, D.C.(March 25, 2009)—The Arizona Supreme Court today issued a ruling that seriously jeopardizes the educational futures of more than 470 foster children and students with special needs.

The Court’s opinion in the Cain v. Horne case says that Arizona’s Scholarships for Pupils with Disabilities Program and its Displaced Pupil’s Grant Program violate one of the Arizona Constitution’s Blaine Amendments, specifically Article 9, section 10 which prohibits “appropriations of public money made in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school, or any public service corporation.”

These programs, which were enacted in 2006, are designed to provide additional school choices to families of students with special needs and to foster children.

The Alliance and school choice allies in Arizona are deeply disappointed with the Court’s decision. Most importantly, we are saddened for the families of the children in these programs, who may be forced to remove their children from the best schools they have ever known.

Arizona's strong coalition of school choice supporters, principally the Institute for Justice—which has worked tirelessly and collaborated side-by-side with hundreds of parents to protect all of Arizona's school choice programs through multiple legal challenges—is evaluating options regarding the futures of these programs and the students who receive these crucial scholarships.

“This is not the end of the line for these parents or for school choice advocates,” said Tim Keller, executive director of the Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter. “We will consider all of our legal and policy options in light of today’s unfortunate decision in the hopes of helping these vulnerable students obtain the best education that Arizona has to offer, regardless of whether that is in a public or a private school.”

“Today’s ruling, while disappointing to parents and school choice supporters, should not lend encouragement to special interest groups who believe litigating against parents and depriving their children of educational options is somehow beneficial. We are hopeful that a path can be found that will allow these students to attend the schools that best meet their needs” said Alliance Interim President John Schilling, formerly an Associate Superintendent at the Arizona Department of Education.

For more information about the case and other school choice litigation, visit the Institute for Justice's Web site at

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The Alliance for School Choice is the nation's largest nonprofit organization promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs. Visit the Alliance online at www.AllianceForSchoolChoice.org.