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Alliance Defense attorney: School choice program is constitutional

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) have filed a brief with the Arizona Court of Appeals to defend school choice for families in that state.

Earlier this year, a trial court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) seeking to declare the corporate tax credit tuition program unconstitutional. The program allows Arizona taxpayers to divert part of their tax obligation and sent it to School Choice America, which allows deserving students to get into private or charter schools.

Gary McCaleb, senior counsel with ADF, says the main issue is whether there is a violation of the supposed separation of church and state. "There's like three layers of private choice here. It's not tax money to begin with, it's not state funds. The ACLU has tried three times now to say it's a violation of the Establishment Clause, and they've lost every time," he says.

McCaleb says the program gives Arizona taxpayers a wide range of educational choices, and he alleges that to block the choices because the program allows religious and secular schools to participate is discrimination. He says his organization is working hard to make sure that those who want to attend religious schools are not treated as second-class citizens.