Court upholds voucher program for disabled Oklahoma students

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that a scholarship program that allows public money to be used to send students with certain disabilities to private schools is constitutional.

In a unanimous opinion Tuesday, the state’s high court ruled the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Program does not violate Oklahoma’s constitution. Opponents of the voucher program had argued the law violated a constitutional prohibition on the use of public money to benefit any church or system of religion.

Republican state Rep. Jason Nelson, who wrote the law in 2010, says at least 400 Oklahoma students have qualified for the voucher program.

Supporters of voucher programs to allow the use of public money to help pay for tuition at private schools, including religious schools, are praising the court’s ruling.