Utah has joined the ranks of school voucher states with a flurry of fast-track shenanigans that managed to bypass anything resembling a democratic process.
Opponents of this bill should go over their state constitution with a fine toothed comb. Did legislators dot all of the i’s and cross all of the t’s? Is there anything in the constitution that prohibits public money not being spent on private or religious schools (yeah, I know it’s Utah, but it’s worth a look)? If there’s anything at all that could be grounds for a court challenge, they should take a shot at it. There have been states that have had bad public ed legislation thrown out on procedural grounds (how they were passed) and constitutional grounds (using public money on private schools is not allowed).
Opponents of this bill should go over their state constitution with a fine toothed comb. Did legislators dot all of the i’s and cross all of the t’s? Is there anything in the constitution that prohibits public money not being spent on private or religious schools (yeah, I know it’s Utah, but it’s worth a look)? If there’s anything at all that could be grounds for a court challenge, they should take a shot at it. There have been states that have had bad public ed legislation thrown out on procedural grounds (how they were passed) and constitutional grounds (using public money on private schools is not allowed).