A judge in Kanawha County, West Virginia, ruled that a major school choice program that provided state funds for students leaving public school systems is in violation of the state constitution — putting the scholarships of some 3,000 students in jeopardy.
Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Joanna Tabit made the ruling to halt, at least temporarily, a program that uses state education funds to pay for tuition, tutoring, and transportation for students leaving public school for private school alternatives, among other things.
“I’m granting preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, enjoining the state from implementing that statute,” Tabit said following a hearing.
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Plaintiffs in the case argued the so-called “voucher law” violates the state constitution by taking away needed funds from public schools. Those who favored the scholarship program, known as the Hope Scholarship, said the funding pays for schools that can best help the students’ needs and interests.
Tabit sided with the plaintiffs, saying the scholarship program was “negatively affecting the public school resources.”
Attorneys for supporters of the Hope Scholarship say they plan to appeal the ruling.
Patrick Morrisey, the state’s Republican attorney general, also vowed to appeal the ruling, calling it a “legally incorrect decision” in a tweet posted Wednesday.
“Our kids & hard working families of our state deserve the best educational options. We’re very hopeful that this decision — like others which failed in Circuit Court — will be reversed,” Morrisey wrote.
Outspoken school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and a board member at the Liberty Justice Center, told the Washington Examiner that the lawsuit and the ruling were further evidence that teachers unions will “use any lever they can to avoid any competition and accountability.”
DeAngelis blasted Tabit as an “activist judge” who had “let the mask slip by admitting the ruling was about protecting the government school establishment.”
“Funding students directly and empowering families to choose among various education providers does not abolish a free system of K-12 education in West Virginia,” DeAngelis said. “The same funding is still available to all families, regardless of income, and they can still choose public or private institutions.”
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The West Virginia Treasurer’s Office announced in May that more than 3,000 students were approved for scholarships worth nearly $4,300 per pupil for the upcoming school year.
Since the Hope Scholarship launched in 2021, at least 2,402 scholarships had been awarded, according to Deputy Treasurer Jared Hunt.
