INDReporter

State plans end run around voucher hurdle

by Walter Pierce

State Superintendent John White is ready to run with a plan to fund Louisiana's voucher program that he believes sidesteps a state district court judge's ruling that using Minimum Foundation Program funds to send students to private schools is unconstitutional.

NOLA.com is reporting that state Superintendent John White is ready to run with a plan to fund Louisiana's voucher program that he believes sidesteps a state district court judge's ruling that using Minimum Foundation Program funds - the pool of money that funds public education in Louisiana, which is generated by both the state and local school districts - to send students to private schools is unconstitutional. The Jindal administration appealed the ruling and the Supreme Court of Louisiana is set to hear arguments in the case in March.

But White, according to NOLA.com, believes that using MFP funds indirectly, by distributing the voucher money through local school districts rather than directly from the state, will satisfy the constitutional issues. The main opponent, the Louisiana School Boards Association, isn't buying it, arguing that regardless of whether the money is dispersed directly or indirectly, it's still unconstitutional to use public money for private education.

NOLA.com further reports that White has already unveiled the new plan to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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