The Legacy of Zelman v Harris-Simmons

Five years ago (6/27/2002), the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Zelman v Harris-Simmons which held that Ohio's Cleveland-based voucher program was constitutional. Sunday's Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) has this assessment of the program:

From Cleveland Heights to Akron, the population shift from older neighborhoods could lead to the closing, merger or consolidation of about one-sixth of the schools in the eight-county Cleveland Catholic Diocese. But Catholic schools in Cleveland proper have a guardian angel: Ohio taxpayers, who provided more than $16 million in tuition vouchers for more than 5,500 city children to attend parochial schools this past school year.

The paper also notes that the program enjoys bi-partisan support. Voucher opponents claims that the program drains resources from other public school activities.