Again, from the Detroit News: “Michigan judge extends freeze on private school aid.”
A Michigan judge on Wednesday extended her temporary freeze on state funding for private schools as she continues to consider a request for a longer injunction. . . .
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is among a handful of groups who sued the state in March seeking to block a $2.5 million budget appropriation designed to reimburse private schools for state mandates, including immunization and compliance drills.
“This is a very important decision from the judge, even though it is not a final one, because without an order the state would have been free to start distributing money directly to private schools, which would be unprecedented in Michigan’s constitutional history,” said ACLU attorney Dan Korobkin.
Plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the fiscal year 2017 funding as the case moves forward in court, arguing the appropriation violates the Michigan Constitution, which prohibits most direct or indirect aid for private schools.
Why is this still OK, following the recent Supreme Court ruling? I would guess that’s because the prohibition references “private” schools in general rather than parochial schools specifically. But at the same time, it seems unlikely that the ACLU would be involved if it were truly an issue of private schools per se, especially since, following the 1994 legislation that moved school funding primarily to the state level, and gave state funding to charter schools (without depending on local school districts for approval), I suspect that, with very few exceptions (e.g., Detroit Country Day School, etc.), nonpublic schools are virtually all parochial schools, since they were the only ones unable to partake in the state funding bonanza.
On the other hand, if the Michigan Constitution prohibits this sort of aid, well, then, it seems like the right fix, if there’s consensus among the legislature and the governor, is to simply amend the constitution, which, to be sure, requires a 2/3rds supermajority, but sure seems like a more reasonable approach than just trying to wish it away.
Image: from flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andwat/3458528092; creative commons 2.0
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In