Louisiana’s voucher law questioned in desegregation case

Louisiana’s education chief has been summoned to federal court in a case involving the state’s new school voucher law and a 47-year-old desegregation case. U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle has ordered Superintendent John White and the state education board to come to federal court in New Orleans next Tuesday. The Tangipahoa school system argues that the voucher law, which pays private school tuition for some lower-income students from low-performing schools, diverts state money from the local school district. And they say that affects the system’s ability to comply with orders in the desegregation case. Those orders include construction of four elementary schools and the continuation of magnet school programs. The new statewide voucher program provides state-funded private school tuition for students from low- to moderate-income families who would otherwise attend a public school graded with a “C,” “D” or “F” by the state. More than 4,900 students are taking advantage of it in the current school year. But some in the education establishment, including the system in Tangipahoa, are unhappy because the money going to private schools would ordinarily go to local public school districts. In a lawsuit, two teacher unions and dozens of local school boards argue it’s improper to pay for the programs through the state’s public school funding formula, and they claim lawmakers didn’t follow the process for passing laws. That state court lawsuit is slated to be heard Nov. 28 in Baton Rouge. The state Department of Education had not issued a public statement on the matter as of this afternoon. Read the full story here.