Arizona Supreme Court Hears Arguments On School Vouchers

Attorneys yesterday presented oral arguments to the Arizona Supreme Court in Cain v. Horne, a case testing the constitutionality of two Arizona school voucher programs. An Arizona appellate court had held that while the programs do not violate the Religion Clause of Arizona's constitution, they do violate the separate state constitutional ban on aid to private or sectarian schools. (See prior posting.) The Arizona Capitol Times reported on the arguments, which focused on whether families receiving vouchers, rather than the schools, are the "true beneficiaries" of the state funds. Voucher opponents argued that the state voucher plans effectively reroute funds intended for public schools into private schools in violation of the drafters' desire to protect the public school system and avoid forcing citizens to pay for religious instruction with which they disagree. Before the hearing, hundreds of voucher supporters demonstrated near the court.