The state’s widely expanded and used school choice voucher system is unconstitutional because it doesn’t provide for free, uniform education, the Florida Education Association argued in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Parents and the FEA argued in a 39-page filing in state trial court in Leon County that state dollars funding private school vouchers don’t conform to the Florida’s Constitution’s charge requiring “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools.”
“This mandate is not aspirational; it is binding. It reflects the basic principle that access to a high-quality education should not depend on where students live, their families’ circumstances, or the type of school they attend. It must be consistent, dependable, and fair across the State,” the union wrote in its lawsuit, naming Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas and members of the State Board of Education as defendants…