Indiana Supreme Court Agrees To Hear School Voucher Case

Photo: Dan Goldblatt/Indiana Public Media

Governor Mitch Daniels speaks with students who attended an education reform rally promoting school choice at the statehouse.

The next stop for the battle over Indiana‘s school choice program is the state Supreme Court. The court agreed Friday to bypass the Court of Appeals and hear the challenge to Indiana‘s school vouchers.

In January, Marion County Superior Court Judge Michael Keele upheld the law providing state-funded vouchers to help some parents of children in low-performing public schools pay for private schools. Teresa Meredith, vice president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, filed the suit challenging the law saying that since some parents were using the money to send their kids to schools associated with churches, the law violated the Constitution.

Attorneys for the teacher‘s group wanted the Court of Appeals to hear the case first, but Attorney General Greg Zoeller asked the Supreme Court to take the case directly. Zoeller Spokesman Bryan Corbin says Zoeller does not have a personal position on the law but is defending it‘s legality in his capacity as Attorney General. Zoeller has until April 11 to file briefs in the case. It is unclear when the Supreme Court will hold a hearing.