By AP
Tulsa, OK – Lawsuit dismissed against Okla. school districts
(Information in the following story is from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) A federal lawsuit against four school districts that refused to award publicly funded scholarships to special-needs students so they could attend private schools has been dismissed.
The Tulsa World reports the lawsuit brought by parents against the Broken Arrow, Jenks, Tulsa and Union districts was dismissed on Wednesday at the parents' request.
The districts questioned whether the recently passed law that allowed the scholarships to be awarded violates the Oklahoma Constitution's prohibition against using public taxpayer dollars for private sectarian purposes.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Eric Rassbach, said the lawsuit was dismissed because the Department of Education is running the program instead of the districts, and the parents will receive the scholarships.
The districts' attorney, Doug Mann, said his clients wanted a decision on whether the law is constitutional.