In the wake of the Supreme Court of Louisiana ruling that the funding method for the state's school voucher program is unconstitutional, the voucher program's biggest boosters - Gov. Bobby Jindal and state Superintendent John White - released statements saying, in effect, the ruling will not retard the program's progress. In the wake of the Supreme Court of Louisiana ruling that the funding method for the state's school voucher program is unconstitutional because it takes public dollars away from a per-pupil allocation formula known as the Minimum Foundation Program, the voucher program's biggest boosters - Gov. Bobby Jindal and state Superintendent John White - released statements saying, in effect, the ruling will not retard the program's progress.
From Jindal:
This ruling means that the Scholarship Program is alive and well. I've looked these parents and their children in the eyes and I know how important it is to give them the opportunity to get a better education. Before this reform, 44 percent of our schools were failing, we were spending nearly a billion dollars on failing schools and one-third of students were performing below grade level.
Now the number of failing schools is decreasing, scores are increasing and more Louisiana families finally have a choice. The number of parents who want to be part of the Scholarship Program has grown by nearly 3,000 this year.
We're disappointed the funding mechanism was rejected, but we are committed to making sure this program continues and we will fund it through the budget. The bottom line is that our kids only get one chance to grow up and we are committed to making sure choice is alive and families can send their children to the school of their choice. White:
On the most important aspect of the law, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of families. The Scholarship Program will continue, and thousands of Louisiana families will continue to have the final say in where to send their children to school. Nearly 93 percent of Scholarship families report that they love their school, and we will work with the Legislature to find another funding source to keep parents and kids in these schools.