INDIANAPOLIS -
Hundreds of students turned out for a rally at the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday to show support for school choice.
Gov. Mitch Daniels spent time before the event talking to students about their education.
He told the noisy crowd that Indiana has not always practiced the slogan on some state license plates to put "Kids First," but instead has spent more money on buildings.
Daniels says that's not true any more.
"If you will work, if you will study, the future will take care of itself," he told students
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett also spoke at the rally.
Last month an Indianapolis judge upheld Indiana's school voucher law, rejecting opponents' arguments that it unconstitutionally used taxpayers' money to support religion.
Indiana State Teachers Association President Nate Schnellenberger said opponents would appeal the ruling.
Marion Superior Court Judge Michael Keele said the School Choice Scholarship program doesn't violate the state constitution because the state isn't directly funding parochial schools. Instead, it gives scholarship vouchers to parents, who can choose where to use them.
About 4,000 children are enrolled in Indiana's school voucher program, the nation's largest, at a cost of $16 million.
The Indiana legislature is also considering a proposal that would make thousands of current private school students eligible for Indiana's school voucher program.
The state Senate Education Committee voted last month to approve a bill removing a requirement that children first spend at least one year in public schools before they can receive a voucher.
