TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - A controversial school voucher plan that became the centerpiece of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's education reform package was declared unconstitutional on Monday, with only three weeks to go before classes resume.
Florida Circuit Judge P. Kevin Daley of Tallahassee ruled that the state constitution's explicit prohibition on the use of public funds for sectarian institutions was ``clear and unambiguous.'' He barred the use of vouchers in the upcoming school year.
``While this court recognizes and empathizes with the salutary purpose of this legislation -- to enhance educational opportunity of children caught in the snare of substandard schools -- such a purpose does not grant this court authority to abandon the clear mandate of the people as enunciated in the Constitution,'' Davey wrote in his ruling.
Since its creation in 1999, the voucher program has pitted the Republican governor against the teachers unions and leading Democrats who argued that vouchers would drain already scarce resources from the neediest public schools.
Under Florida's statewide voucher plan, students attending public schools that failed to meet state standards can attend another school, public or private. Churches and religious groups ran many of the private schools that accepted state tuition vouchers.
To date, only about 330 students have applied to the program but more may soon qualify.
For the upcoming school year, students from eight Florida elementary schools and two high schools would be eligible to receive tuition vouchers.
Bush said Davey's interpretation of the Florida Constitutional was incorrect and vowed to appeal the ruling, which comes on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling validating a similar school voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio.
``Today's ruling puts in jeopardy the education of hundreds of children,'' Bush said in a statement. ``It is my hope that those children will be able to continue to attend the schools their parents have chosen.''
The Florida Constitution forbids the transfer of public funds directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.
``The language utilized in this provision is clear and unambiguous,'' Davey wrote. ``There is scant room for interpretation or parsing.''
Bush's Democratic critics praised the ruling, saying it validated arguments made during the past three years that school vouchers violated the state constitution's barrier between church and state.
``Public schools struggling to educate Florida's children need the state's financial support, not its sanctions,'' said state Rep. Lois Frankel, House Democratic leader and a vocal opponent of vouchers. ``I urge Governor Bush to heed the court's decision and follow the constitutional mandate of making public education a top priority.''
The case was brought on behalf of Ruth Holmes, a former schoolteacher and state teachers union president from Pensacola, where vouchers were first used.