Jim Rosica
Americans for Prosperity Florida, the government spending watchdog, says it “celebrates” Tuesday’s appellate court decision on the state’s school vouchers program.
“On a day that many students across our state return back to school, the (court) ruled in favor of 70,000 low-income Florida students and their families, as well as ruling in favor of our state constitution,” said Skylar Zander, the group’s deputy director, in a statement.
The 1st District Court of Appeal sided with a lower court to throw out the lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association and others over the state’s largest private school voucher program.
They had argued its method of funding private-school educations for more than 90,000 schoolchildren this year is unconstitutional.
“The Florida teachers union has been trying to play political games with these low-income Floridians and take away their right and access to greater education options for years,” Zander added. “This ruling helps tip the scale of justice back in favor of parents and students.”
The ruling, however, did not reach the merits of the case, but struck down the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, saying the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to bring the action.
The statement explained that AFP “advocates for school choice policies through its legislative agenda, Five for Florida. AFP believes that parents and students deserve the best educational outcomes regardless of income or geographical limitations.”
AFP was founded by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, who fund many conservative causes.
