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MEDIA ADVISORY: WITH 5th CIRCUIT RULING, FEDERAL ASSAULT ON LOUISIANA VOUCHERS CONTIUNES; FAMILIES VOW TO STAY THE COURSE

October 9, 2014

Contact: Michael Kelley

602-633-8965

 

(8/4/2014) Scholarship families and the Black Alliance for Educational Options were denied their motion to dismiss the US Justice Department’s attack on their popular education program by federal Judge Ivan Lemelle, who issued his decision today. The Goldwater Institute, who is representing the families and BAEO, will swiftly appeal the ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The Justice Department launched its attack on the scholarship program based on a decades-old ruling from a desegregation case. It dealt with a 1970’s state program that provided aid to private schools that were evading desegregation decrees. The scholarship program is 180 degrees from that program, delivering high-quality educational opportunities for the first time to low-income children, most of whom are minorities. The district court has no authority to allow the attack to continue.

“The same court tried to prevent families from joining the lawsuit to protect their children’s opportunities,” said Clint Bolick, vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute. “The Fifth Circuit ordered the court to let them in.  We are hopeful that the Fifth Circuit will correct the district court’s latest error, and put an end to the uncertainty these families have endured.”

 

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To schedule an interview with Clint Bolick, please contact Michael Kelley at (602) 633-8965 or mkelley@goldwaterinstitute.org. The Goldwater Institute has an in-house VideoLink studio for rapid cable hook-up if needed.

 

 

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