Bush v. Holmes

• Court: Florida State Court
• Citation: 919 So. 2d 392 (Fla. 2006)
• Decided: 2006
• Church-State Issue: Religious School Vouchers

Description

By diverting funds from public to private schools, Florida’s voucher program undermined the state constitution’s guarantee of a “high quality system of free public schools.”

State Constitution: Initially, the trial court invalidated the program under Article IX, Section 1, of the Florida Constitution, which obliges the state government to provide “a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools.” The court prospectively enjoined the voucher system but allowed currently enrolled students to remain in private schools through the 1999-2000 school year. The Florida Court of Appeals reversed, however, and remanded for consideration of the plaintiffs’ other claims.

The trial court next struck down the program under Article I, Section 3, which forbids both direct and indirect government aid to “any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.” This time, a Court of Appeals panel affirmed, after first concluding that under the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Locke v. Davey, Section 3 did not violate the federal Free Exercise Clause. When the entire Court of Appeals reheard the case, an eight-judge majority the same conclusions, with a plurality further holding that the voucher program violated Section 1's guarantee of a high-quality public education.

Finally, the Florida Supreme Court agreed the program was unconstitutional, but it adopted the trial court’s original rationale, holding that by diverting funds from public to private schools, the voucher program impermissibly undermined the state’s ability to provide a “high quality system of free public schools” as required by Section 1. The court ordered the program to cease at the end of the 2005-06 school year.