Legal Clips, [February 2008]NSBA has filed an amicus brief in support of a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona (ACLU-AZ), People for the American Way (PFAW), and three individual taxpayers asking the Arizona Supreme Court to declare two new state voucher programs for foster and disabled children attending private schools unconstitutional under a provision in the Arizona Constitution that prohibits state funding for private or religious school. NSBA’s brief was authored pro bono by Lee Stein and Elizabeth J. Kruschek of Perkins Coie Brown & Bain P.A. The brief argues that Arizona’s no-funding provision is unrelated to the so called “Blaine Amendment” of the 19th century, which voucher proponents have characterized as tainted by anti-Catholic bigotry. The brief also notes that no-funding principles pre-dated and arose independently of the anti-Catholic movement, and that supporters of the “Blaine Amendment” were motivated by a variety of factors. Irrespective of speculation about varied historical motives, NSBA argues, the high court should interpret the no-funding provision in light of its contemporary meaning over 100 years later.
NSBA amicus brief in Cain v. Horne
NSBA School Law pages on Arizona voucher suit