Utah Voucher Plan In Hands of Voters

Astroturf groups in support of school privatization have failed in their efforts to force feed Utah voters with a tamper-proof school voucher arrangement. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

In a win for voucher opponents, the Utah Supreme Court decided today that Utah's two voucher bills are joined at the hip -- and should live and die on the outcome of a Nov. 6 referendum vote.

The court said the referendum-proof law remaining in Utah code will also die if voters reject the original voucher law.

"If the voters choose to reject [the original voucher law, the amending voucher law] will not create an additional voucher program," said the court's written decision.

The decision came just hours after the court heard oral arguments on the issue from four separate parties, who each got 20 minutes. Justices asked all of them, in one way or another, how they expect the court to clean up the mess created by voucher statute remaining in Utah code. . . .