Judge to rule next week on blocking Indiana vouchers - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS - A judge says he won't rule until next week on a request to block Indiana's new private school voucher law from taking effect.

The Marion County judge heard arguments for more than an hour Thursday morning in the lawsuit filed by a group of teachers and religious leaders challenging the law.

Their lawsuit backed by the Indiana State Teachers Association claims the vouchers violate the state constitution by providing public money to religious institutions and undermining public education by giving public money to private schools.

The state attorney general's office argues that the money going to private schools come from parents, not the state.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller's office is defending the new state statute from the plaintiffs' legal challenge.

"In defending the state law, we contend Hoosiers' elected representatives in the Legislature followed the Constitution when they devised a system for the benefit of students that offers families more educational options. Using the new state choice scholarships, more than 150 students already have enrolled in different accredited schools that start this week; and any injunction would be extremely disruptive to their education while this litigation is pending," Zoeller said.

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