After refusing to dismiss a pair of lawsuits challenging the legality of a new voucher program in North Carolina, a superior court judge today ruled to suspend the program from distributing funds until the lawsuits have been resolved.
The ruling stops the state from holding its scheduled lottery next month that would award nearly 2,400 vouchers for the 2014-15 school year, reports WRAL.com.
Nearly 4,300 students have applied for the vouchers, which would provide up to $4,200 of public funding per child to be used toward private school tuition. The North Carolina Association of Educators and the North Carolina School Boards Association have both filed separate lawsuits claiming the program, which was created by the legislature last summer, violates the state’s constitution.