BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
District Court Judge Tim Kelley will
rule this week on whether Act 2, known as the Voucher Program, is
unconstitutional. The Voucher Program is just one part of Governor Bobby
Jindal's education reform. However, some say what
the program hinders education.
The program allows students in
low-performing schools to obtain a voucher to use state funds to attend a
private or parochial school. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers
filed a lawsuit earlier this year, saying the constitution prohibits money meant
for public schools to be used otherwise. The Louisiana Association
of Educators and 43 school boards are also involved in the lawsuit.
"The MFP, as spelled out in the
constitution, has been traditionally used to fund public elementary and
secondary education. The words mean what the words mean," said Steve
Monaghan, President of LFT.
Representative John Bel Edwards
was the first witness called Wednesday morning. He told the judge he
believed the Governor's reform measures were bad policy from the start.
He says that's why he voted against the bills when they came up during this
past session.
"In this bill that we're talking
about, Act 2, we actually say that charter schools no longer have to hire a
single certified teacher. We got rid of the 75 percent threshold that said they
don't have to hire any certified teachers. How does that improve student
performance? How does that improve educational outcomes? So
everything that's cloaked in terms of reform is not improving," he said.
Before the trial started,
parents who support the vouchers gathered outside the courthouse, saying the
state vouchers gave them an option to send their children to better-performing
schools. The teacher unions say because private schools are not held to
the same standards as public schools, there's no way to know if a private
school is better.
Judge Kelley says he will make a
ruling, following all the testimony. An appeal from either side is likely
to follow the judge's ruling.
Day two of the trial continues
Thursday.
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