Louisiana's Voucher Program Is Making Segregation Worse, Justice Department Finds | ThinkProgress: Louisiana school districts with a long history of racial segregation are becoming more segregated because of the state’s voucher program, according to a motion filed by the Department of Justice this week.
In at least 13 districts still under federal monitoring because of continuing segregation, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s (R) program to use public funds toward tuition for private schools is sending kids who had diversified the schools to those with more similar racial make-up, the DOJ explains in its filing. The state’s voucher program has been implemented amidst much controversy. A state court held in May that the funding mechanism for the voucher program violated the state Constitution, because it allocated funds budgeted for public education to private schools instead, rather than specifically budgeting funds for vouchers. But Jindal found funds for what is known as the Louisiana Scholarship Program elsewhere, and proceeded with implementation. Another court had temporarily suspended the voucher program over concerns it was interfering with desegregation, but it allowed the program to proceed while the desegregation challenge continued.
