Court upholds school vouchers, 5-0 ruling

The Monroe County Community School Corporation Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution opposing House Bill 1003, which would expand the current voucher program.

MCCSC Superintendent Judy DeMuth said the money that is flowing to private schools could be used to fully fund preschools and full-day kindergartens.

The board plans to send the resolution to the legislature. The vote was subsequent of the Indiana Supreme Court’s 5-0 decision Tuesday to uphold the state voucher program.

The Supreme Court ruled the voucher program did not violate Article 8, Section 1; article 1, section 4; or article 1, section 6 of the Indiana constitution. Article 1, Section 6 states “no money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious or theological institution.”

“The voucher program expenditures do not directly benefit religious schools, but rather directly benefit lower-income families with schoolchildren by providing an opportunity for such children to attend non-public schools if desired. Second, the prohibition against government expenditures to benefit religious or theological institutions does not apply to institutions and programs providing primary and secondary education,” the ruling reads.

Some private schools in Bloomington, including St. Charles Catholic School, Lighthouse Christian Academy and Clear Creek Christian School, are participating in the voucher program.

Alec Mayer, principal of St. Charles, said this is the school’s first year accepting vouchers and has 14 students participating in the program.

He said the school doesn’t necessarily benefit with the addition of these students, but the 14 students do.

“We are one of the best schools in Indiana when it comes to ISTEP scores,” he said.

Mayer said this program creates competition which forces all schools in Indiana to strive to become stronger.

“If this is what it takes to make us better, I think this is the way we need to go,” he said.

He said people usually live in the cycle they grow up in and vouchers allow parents to make choices to break that cycle.

“It’s giving the parents the choice and opportunity to choose their child’s school.”
Edward Eiler, visiting clinical assistant professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University, was one of the plaintiffs in the case opposing the program. He is concerned about the way the program divides people between race, values and socioeconomic standing.

He said the program either becomes an additional expense to the state or takes away money from public schools and that the program has strayed away from its original intent to help poor students have more choices.

“This is not enabling these families,” he said.

Instead, Eiler said private schools are mainly composed of Caucasian families not living in poverty, and it gives schools more of a choice whom to admit instead of giving parents a choice of where to send their children to school.

He said the program can have long-term negative effects, as it drains resources from public school children.

The voucher program was created in 2011 by former state superintendent Tony Bennett and currently serves 289 schools and more than 9,000 students.