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School Choice Funding Method Rejected by Nevada Supreme Court

The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state’s education savings account law, ruling that while the premise of using taxpayer money for private education was constitutional, the method used to fund the ESA program was not.

The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state’s education savings account law, ruling that while the premise of using taxpayer money for private education was constitutional, the method used to fund the ESA program was not.

 

The high court ordered a permanent injunction against the law — viewed as the most sweeping school choice legislation in the country — that was passed last year on a party-line vote by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

 

GOP legislators who had championed the law pledged to establish a separate funding account and called for Gov. Brian Sandoval to include the ESA program on the agenda for an anticipated special session next month. That session, which Sandoval is expected to convene between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, already was set to consider financing for a stadium in Clark County and an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

 

But late Thursday the Republican governor signaled the issue of funding ESAs should be addressed by the 2017 Legislature when it convenes in February.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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