Cole County judge upholds school voucher program

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge on Tuesday upheld the state's voucher program that lets some students attend their school of choice -- public or private.

Judge Brian Stumpe denied the Missouri National Education Association's request for an injunction to halt the Missouri Scholars Program.

The Missouri General Assembly appropriated $51 million for the program in the current fiscal year. Missouri Scholars pays for students with specialized education plans and those from low-income families to attend a school of their choice. That school can be public or private.

The MNEA filed the lawsuit after last year's legislative session, alleging the program would divert money from public schools and harm public education. The teachers' group also argued that the legislature did not have the authority to fund scholarships.

Stumpe wrote in his order that the MNEA did not demonstrate that anyone had been harmed by the program. He wrote that "fears of indirect harm to the functioning of public schools" were baseless.

"Evidence in this case even details how public schools could benefit from the Missouri Scholars Program," Stumpe wrote. "Not all children who receive scholarships through the Missouri Scholars Program will leave the public-school system -- scholarships do not solely cover private-school tuition."

However, granting an injunction to halt the program in the middle of a school year would risk harming low-income families, Stumpe wrote.

The MNEA has vowed to appeal the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court. In a statement, the organization maintained that the voucher program violates the Missouri Constitution.

MNEA is a union representing 45,000 educators in Missouri, the organization states.