ACLU Applauds Arizona Supreme Court Decision Striking Down School Voucher Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
PHOENIX – The ACLU of Arizona applauds today's decision by the Arizona Supreme Court striking down two state-funded voucher programs as a violation of the so-called "Aid Clause" of the Arizona Constitution.
Article 9, section 10 of the Arizona Constitution, also known as the "Aid Clause," expressly states that: "no tax shall be laid or appropriation of public money made in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school, or any public service corporation."
In its 21-page opinion, the court ruled that the voucher program undermines the state's public school system by creating an educational system that is not uniform and by diverting tax dollars from public to private and church-run schools.
"The framers plainly intended that Arizona have a strong public school system to provide mandatory education," wrote Justice Michael D. Ryan. "The Aid Clause furthers this goal by prohibiting appropriation of funds from the public treasury to private school."
At issue are two statutes that were enacted by the Arizona Legislature in 2006. They authorize the state to pay tuition at religious and other private schools for a limited number of children. In November 2006, the ACLU of Arizona joined parents and educators in filing a lawsuit arguing that the statutes violate provisions in the Arizona Constitution that prohibit state funding of religious and other private schools. In May 2008, the Arizona appeals court agreed with the ACLU and other plaintiffs in the case, including the Arizona Association of School Business Officials, Arizona Education Association, Arizona Federation of Teachers, Arizona PTA, Arizona Rural Schools Association, Arizona School Administrators Association and Arizona School Boards Association.
"Voucher schemes offer the illusion of 'choice,' when at best, they increase the opportunities for only a handful of children who will be carefully selected by private and religious schools that have the luxury of deciding whom they want to admit," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. "Fundamental fairness demands that we improve our public schools for every child instead of targeting just a few.
"Now that the issue of the constitutionality of the Arizona voucher scheme is over, it is time for the Arizona Legislature to go back to the drawing board and develop real education reforms, rather than relying on a program that undermines the public school system and forces taxpayers to finance religious institutions whose beliefs they may not share," Meetze added.
Through litigation, public education and legislative lobbying, the ACLU has opposed voucher programs in several states across the country including Ohio and Florida, arguing they unconstitutional force taxpayers to fund religious schools and strip much-needed tax dollars ways from neighborhood public schools. In fact, the ACLU was directly involved in the litigation striking down the voucher program in Florida. In that case, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the voucher program undermines the state's public school system by creating an educational system that is not uniform and by diverting tax dollars from public to private and church-run schools.
Today's opinion is available on-line at: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/opin/pdf2009/Cain%20Opinion%20CV080189PR.pdf
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
-
Press ReleaseApr 2025
Religious Liberty
Aclu Urges Supreme Court To Reject Mandatory Opt-outs From Maryland School District’s Inclusive English Language Arts Curriculum. Explore Press Release.ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Reject Mandatory Opt-Outs from Maryland School District’s Inclusive English Language Arts Curriculum
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Maryland filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today in Mahmoud v. Taylor, urging the court to reject a challenge to a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) policy barring opt-outs from its inclusive English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. Through children’s literature, the ELA curriculum acquaints students with a diversity of viewpoints and people in their community, including LGBTQ peers and their families. The brief argues that, because the “no opt-out” policy is religion-neutral and applies regardless of the reason for objection, the policy should not be analyzed under a “strict scrutiny” legal standard and should instead be subject to a more lenient “rational basis” review, which is easily satisfied in the case. Although MCPS previously allowed opt-outs for any reason from portions of the ELA curriculum featuring storybooks with LGBTQ characters and themes, the growing number of opt-outs proved be disruptive and divisive. Teachers were forced to divert time and resources to create alternative lessons for students who opted out, and many students simply did not attend school at all for the day. In addition, the opt-outs stigmatized LGBTQ students and those with LGBTQ family members. As a result, MCPS properly barred all ELA opt-outs, preventing further disruption to the classroom environment and the educational mission of the ELA curriculum. The decision prompted a group of parents to sue, asserting a violation of their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and other constitutional provisions. “Religious liberty is fundamentally important, but it doesn’t force public schools to exempt students from secular lessons that don’t align with their families’ religious views,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Mandating opt-outs would wreak havoc on public schools, tying their hands on basic curricular decisions, stoking divisiveness and disruption, and undermining a core purpose of public education — to prepare students to live in our pluralistic society.” “In a time of ever-increasing polarization in our country, exemptions that would require schools to allow children to refuse exposure to materials and curriculum about people from various backgrounds is divisive and harmful,” said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland. “Our education system should be one that embraces differences as an opportunity to foster understanding and bring people together. Anything else would send ripples of censorship across the country, negatively impacting countless communities and children who deserve a balanced education.” -
Press ReleaseApr 2025
Religious Liberty
Oklahoma Faith Leaders, Education Advocates, And Parents Urge Supreme Court To Block Nation’s First Religious Public Charter School. Explore Press Release.Oklahoma Faith Leaders, Education Advocates, and Parents Urge Supreme Court to Block Nation’s First Religious Public Charter School
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of Oklahoma faith leaders, public education advocates, and public-school parents – who are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit to stop Oklahoma’s creation of the nation’s first religious public charter school – today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to protect religious freedom and public education by affirming that charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students. In an amicus brief filed today in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, the group explained that the Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly ruled last year that Oklahoma’s charter schools are public schools and, as governmental entities, must abide by the U.S. Constitution’s protections for religious freedom and church-state separation. Therefore, the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which intends to indoctrinate students in one religion, cannot operate as a public charter school. The amici, which include OKPLAC (the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition) and eight Oklahoman taxpayers, are plaintiffs in OKPLAC v. Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, a separate lawsuit in Oklahoma state court challenging the charter school board’s approval of St. Isidore’s application to become a public school. That case is on hold while the case before the U.S. Supreme Court is being resolved. The plaintiffs in OKPLAC are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation, with support from Oklahoma-based counsel Odom & Sparks PLLC and J. Douglas Mann. The organizations issued the following statement: “The law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students. The Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that the state’s approval of a religious public charter school was unlawful and unconstitutional. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that ruling and safeguard public education, church-state separation, and religious freedom for all. “Oklahoma taxpayers, including our clients, should not be forced to fund a religious public school that plans to indoctrinate students into one religion and discriminate against students and staff. Converting public schools into Sunday schools would be a dangerous sea change for our democracy.” In addition to OKPLAC, today’s amicus brief was filed on behalf of Melissa Abdo, Krystal Bonsall, Brenda Lené, Michele Medley, Dr. Bruce Prescott, the Rev. Dr. Mitch Randall, the Rev. Dr. Lori Walke and Erika Wright. The team of attorneys that represents the amici is led by Alex J. Luchenitser of Americans United and includes Luke Anderson of Americans United; Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU; Robert Kim, Jessica Levin and Wendy Lecker of Education Law Center; Patrick Elliott of FFRF; Benjamin H. Odom, John H. Sparks, Michael W. Ridgeway, and Lisa M. Mason of Odom & Sparks; and J. Douglas Mann. -
Press ReleaseMar 2025
Religious Liberty
Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Superintendent Ryan Walters’ Attempts To Purchase Bibles And Bible-infused Instructional Materials. Explore Press Release.Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks Superintendent Ryan Walters’ attempts to purchase Bibles and Bible-infused instructional materials
Oklahoma City – In a victory for religious freedom, public education and church-state separation, the Oklahoma Supreme Court today temporarily blocked Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) from spending taxpayer dollars on Bibles and Bible-infused instructional materials. The order came in the lawsuit Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, which was filed in October 2024 on behalf of 32 Oklahoma families, teachers and faith leaders. The plaintiffs are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. The Court’s order temporarily stayed “work on any new request by the OSDE for the purchase of Bibles.” In addition, the order paused work on a request for proposals issued by OSDE on February 21, 2025. This request for proposals sought suppliers for “supplemental instructional materials that effectively integrate the Bible and character education into elementary-level social studies curriculum.” The organizations representing the plaintiffs will continue fighting Walters’ Bible-education mandate and additional filings are expected soon. They issued the following joint statement on the win: “This victory is an important step toward protecting the religious freedom of every student and parent in Oklahoma. Superintendent Ryan Walters has been abusing his power and the court checked those abuses today. Our diverse coalition of families and clergy remains united against Walters’s extremism and in favor of a core First Amendment principle: the separation of church and state. -
Press ReleaseJan 2025
Religious Liberty
Supreme Court To Hear Oklahoma Case Involving Nation’s First Religious Public Charter School. Explore Press Release.Supreme Court to Hear Oklahoma Case Involving Nation’s First Religious Public Charter School
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following statement concerning the petitions for certiorari granted today by the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. The organizations represent faith leaders, public school parents, and public education advocates in a separate lawsuit to stop Oklahoma from sponsoring and funding St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. “The law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students. The Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that the state’s approval of a religious public charter school was unlawful and unconstitutional. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that ruling and safeguard public education, church-state separation, and religious freedom for all. Oklahoma taxpayers, including our plaintiffs, should not be forced to fund a religious public school that plans to discriminate against students and staff and indoctrinate students into one religion. Converting public schools into Sunday schools would be a dangerous sea change for our democracy.” AU, the ACLU, ELC, and FFRF, with support from Oklahoma-based counsel Odom & Sparks PLLC and J. Douglas Mann, represent Oklahomans who object to their tax dollars funding a religious public charter school that will discriminate against students and employees based on their religion and LGBTQ+ status, won’t commit to adequately serving students with disabilities, and will indoctrinate students into one religion. These nine Oklahomans and OKPLAC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting public education, filed their lawsuit, OKPLAC, Inc. v. Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, on July 31, 2023, in the District Court of Oklahoma County. Following the June 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court decision in Drummond v. OSVCSB, the OKPLAC plaintiffs and defendants reached a court-approved agreement to put the OKPLAC case on hold until at least Feb. 1, 2025, while developments in the Drummond case are pending. St. Isidore agreed not to accept charter-school funding from the state or open to students as a charter school during the 2024-25 school year as part of that agreement. The plaintiffs in the OKPLAC case include the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition, Melissa Abdo, Krystal Bonsall, Leslie Briggs, Brenda Lené, Michele Medley, Dr. Bruce Prescott, the Rev. Dr. Mitch Randall, the Rev. Dr. Lori Walke, and Erika Wright. The team of attorneys that represents the plaintiffs is led by Alex J. Luchenitser of Americans United and includes Jenny Samuels of Americans United; Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU; Robert Kim, Jessica Levin, and Wendy Lecker of Education Law Center; Patrick Elliott of FFRF; Benjamin H. Odom, John H. Sparks, Michael W. Ridgeway, and Lisa M. Mason of Odom & Sparks; and J. Douglas Mann.