Abstract
Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Michigan all have restrictions that do not permit public funds to be allocated for private school choice programs like tuition scholarships. This article will help facilitate the debate in these three states as they consider the best option for providing the children of their state with a quality education. This article will proceed in five parts. Part I gives a brief history of private school choice and outlines the current legal issues facing state private school choice programs. It is important to understand the historical context before proceeding to the current situation. Parts II, III, and IV will look at state constitutional restrictions of private school choice-Part II looks at Michigan, Part III looks at Massachusetts, and Part IV looks at Kentucky. Each state restricts private school choice using different constitutional language, but each of the three states' unique provision qualifies it as one of the most restrictive states regarding private school choice. Part V serves as a brief conclusion and looks at possible options for providing quality seats to low-income students in these three states. The restrictive constitutional provisions are only one impediment to private school choice. State politicians, backed by teachers unions in many states, need to agree to implement a private school choice program, which may be more formidable than even the most restrictive constitutional provisions depending on the state's political environment. The state constitutional provision is often the first place to look because legislators must act in conformity with the Constitution-both the Constitution of the United States and the state constitution.
Recommended Citation
Patrick Loughery,
Note, Inhibiting Educational Choice: State Constitutional Restrictions
on School Choice,
30
Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y
449
(2016).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjlepp/vol30/iss2/9