Vouchers' future put in limbo in Florida

The Opportunity Scholarship program struck down Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court may have been the most recognized of the state's school voucher systems, but it was hardly the largest.

The state's two other voucher programs serve nearly 30,000 students with budgets of about $100 million -- dwarfing the 733 who receive $1.5 million through Opportunity Scholarships. The state also spends more than $300 million for more than 80,000 students in charter schools.

Voucher opponents were emboldened by the strong language of Chief Justice Barbara Pariente's opinion, but attorneys on both sides of the voucher debate said other programs could be more difficult to derail.

''That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?'' said JulieAnn Rico Allison, the Miami-Dade School Board's attorney. ``Certainly the opinion gives encouragement to attempt to pursue a challenge on those other scholarships, but I think it's really speculative at this point as to what the courts would do.''



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