Ohio State law expert available to discuss voucher decision

A closely divided Supreme Court upheld today the use of public money to send disadvantaged students to religious schools, a victory for President George W. Bush and other advocates of tuition voucher programs.

School vouchers have been attacked as unconstitutional because some say they violate the separation of church and state by allowing public funds to be used for tuition at religious schools. Others have defended vouchers on the grounds the money is available to all participating schools, whether they are religious or not, and their use does not steer people towards religious education.

Constitutional law expert Edward B. (Ned) Foley of the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University is available to speak to the media regarding this issue. A faculty member since 1991, Professor Foley took a two-year leave in 1997 to serve as State Solicitor of Ohio during which time he worked on the school voucher issue.

The case hits especially close to home because in Cleveland, students between kindergarten and eighth grade, can use vouchers of up to $2,250 to pay tuition at participating schools, public or private. Of the 56 private schools that participated during the 1999-2000 school year, 46 were church-affiliated. So far, no public schools have elected to participate in the program.