June 29, 2015 DENVER - Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado are applauding a decision today by the Colorado Supreme Court striking down a Douglas County school voucher program that had allowed taxpayer dollars to flow directly to religious schools.

In a decision announced this morning, Colorado’s highest court ruled that the county’s so-called “Choice Scholarship Pilot Program” violates the Colorado Constitution because it improperly diverts public funds to private, religious schools. Citing Article IX, Section 7 of the state Constitution, the court explained, “[T]his stark constitutional provision makes one thing clear:  A school district may not aid religious schools. Yet aiding religious schools is exactly what the [voucher program] does.”

“Parents are free to send their children to private religious schools if they wish, but the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed today that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for it,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein.

Counsel for Petitioners, Matt Douglas, said that: “The court made clear that this type of program violates the plain language of the Colorado Constitution, and rejected the argument that temporarily passing the money through the hands of parents could avoid this specific prohibition.”

The program provided 500 students with vouchers worth about $4,600, which could be spent on tuition at religious and other private schools. In order to obtain per-pupil educational funds from the state, Douglas County classified these children as “public school students” who attended a charter school that did not actually exist.

In reality, the voucher money was spent at district-approved “Private School Partners,” a collection of private schools. According to the Court, 16 of the 23 approved Private School Partners were sectarian. The court found that this violated the “broad, unequivocal language forbidding the State from using public money to fund religious schools.”

“The Colorado Constitution provides very strong safeguards for the separation of church and state, and today’s decision preserves and honors those protections,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

“It is unconstitutional to bankroll religious schools with public funds,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “But that is precisely what would have happened in Douglas County had the Colorado Supreme Court ruled otherwise.”

In 2011, the civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents, clergy and taxpayers. A lower court decided in their favor, but in 2013 the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the program.

Plaintiffs were represented by Douglas, Timothy R. Macdonald, and Michelle K. Albert of Arnold & Porter LLP; Alex J. Luchenitser and Ayesha N. Khan of Americans United; Weaver and Daniel Mach of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; and Silverstein and Sara Rich of the ACLU of Colorado.

More on this case

June 29, 2015
DENVER –The Colorado Supreme Court today struck down a Douglas County voucher program that had attempted to provide public education funds to private religious schools.  The ACLU of Colorado, which argued the case before the Court last December, will hold a press conference at 1:15 today at 303 E. 17^th Ave in Denver to respond to the decision.
WHERE:
ACLU of Colorado 303 E. 17^th Ave. First Floor Conference Room Denver, CO 80203
WHEN:
TODAY, June 29, 2015 1:15 pm MT (Updated from 12:30 pm)

Resources:

Visit the ACLU case page with corresponding legal documents: https://aclu-co.org/court-cases/la-rue-v-colorado-board-of-education/

View: Civil Liberties Groups Ask Colorado Supreme Court to Strike Down Douglas County Voucher Program.

 
 
June 26, 2015
DENVER - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states may not deny the freedom to marry to same-sex couples throughout the country.  Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage was lifted last year after Adams County District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree declared it unconstitutional and the Colorado Supreme Court lifted its stay on his decision, making the judgment final.
ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley issued the following statement:

“Today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is a momentous win for freedom and equality, for the Constitution, and most of all, for love.
“Bringing marriage equality to Colorado has been a top priority of the ACLU for decades. As a founding member of the Why Marriage Matters Colorado coalition, we are proud to have contributed to winning full marriage equality in our state last year. Today’s decision guarantees that marriage equality is the law of the land for all loving couples throughout the country.
“Marriage equality is an historic achievement, and today is a day for celebration.  However, our work is far from over.  Far too many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Coloradans still face discrimination in their everyday lives.  The ACLU of Colorado will remain vigilant and continue to fight for full equality, so that every Coloradan can openly parent, work, live, and love.”
Visit the ACLU of Colorado’s Marriage Equality campaign page:  https://aclu-co.org/campaigns/marriage-equality/

Learn more about the Why Marriage Matters Colorado campaign at: http://www.whymarriagematterscolorado.org/