DENVER - Federal District Court Judge Marcia Krieger today denied plaintiffs’ request to issue an unprecedented emergency order requiring the Douglas County School District school voucher program to divert taxpayer funds to private religious schools.
The ACLU of Colorado, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, and the law firm Arnold & Porter - who successfully challenged the program before the Colorado Supreme Court last year - intervened last month in the case to challenge the plaintiffs’ collateral attack on that decision.
ACLU cooperating attorney Matt Douglas of Arnold & Porter issued the following statement, on behalf of the ACLU of Colorado, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion.
“We commend the District Court’s ruling today in which the court agreed that this case is a clear attempt to circumvent the Colorado State Supreme Court decision of last year striking down the original Douglas County school voucher program as a violation of the Colorado Constitution.
“The Court also expressed serious doubts as to whether the case should go forward, given that the plaintiffs and the defendants clearly want the same result – to direct taxpayer funds to private, religious schools. While denying the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction, the Court invited motions to dismiss the case outright, which we intend to file.
“As we’ve argued throughout this case, and as the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed, parents are free to send their children to private, religious schools if they wish, but taxpayers should not be forced to pay for it.”
