Are school choice programs constitutional? As explained in the second edition of School Choice and State Constitutions—a joint publication of IJ and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—the answer in nearly every state is “yes, if they are designed properly.” And in order to properly design a program in any given state, policymakers have to know the state of school choice law there. What are the relevant state constitutional provisions? What are the legal precedents interpreting those provisions? What types of school choice programs can survive a legal challenge based on those provisions?
School Choice and State Constitutions answers these questions for all 50 states. These answers are particularly important given that opponents of school choice are determined to try to shut down most new school choice programs through litigation based on state constitutional provisions. Reading the report—and then reviewing ALEC’s model school choice legislation and consulting the legal experts on IJ’s school choice team—will help policymakers to design programs that will likely survive an eventual legal challenge by the public school teachers’ unions and their political allies.
Related Cases
Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided one of the most important education reform cases in the past half-century. This landmark case held that the U.S. Constitution does not allow states to discriminate…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Douglas Co., Colorado’s Scholarship Program
In Colorado, Douglas County created an innovative school choice program that offers modest scholarships to hundreds of students at a fraction of the cost of getting a public school education.
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