West Virginia Supreme Court releases reasoning behind upholding Hope Scholarship
Justice Tim Armstead penned the majority opinion that explained why the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals dissolved a permanent injunction blocking the Hope Scholarship program. (Photo courtesy of the WV Supreme Court)
CHARLESTON — More than a month after a majority of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ended an injunction against the Hope Scholarship educational savings account and voucher program, justices on opposite sides of the question published their reasoning. In a 3-2 decision Oct. 6, the Supreme Court sided with the state and Hope Scholarship families after they filed an appeal of the Kanawha County Circuit Court ruling in July that placed a preliminary and permanent injunction on the program. Justice Tim Armstead delivered the majority opinion of the court while Chief Justice John Hutchison wrote a dissent to the majority’s decision. Armstead said the state constitutional provision that states “The Legislature shall provide, by general law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools” does not prohibit lawmakers from providing other educational opportunities or services, such as allowing parents to use a portion of state per-pupil expenditures for educational services outside the public school system. “The circuit court ruled that this means that the Legislature may only provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools,” Armstead wrote. “The word ‘only’ does not appear in article XII, section 1 … (the state Constitution) does not contain language prohibiting the Legislature from enacting the Hope Scholarship Act, in addition to its duty to provide for a thorough and efficient system of free schools.” Armstead also criticized Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Joanna Tabit for veering away from whether the Hope Scholarship was constitutional and basing her opinion that the Hope Scholarship was bad public policy. “We emphasize that it is not the judiciary’s role to question the public policy merits of the Hope Scholarship Act,” Armstead wrote. “Our policy preferences are not relevant. Our only role in this matter is to assess the constitutionality of the Hope Scholarship Act.” “Applying these standards, we find that the West Virginia Constitution does not prohibit the Legislature from enacting the Hope Scholarship Act in addition to providing for a thorough and efficient system of free schools,” Armstead continued. “The Constitution allows the Legislature to do both of these things. Therefore, we find that the circuit court abused its discretion by permanently enjoining the State from implementing the Hope Scholarship Act.” In his dissent, Hutchison said the majority’s opinion flew in the face of prior interpretations of the state Constitution by the Supreme Court when it came to guarding public education. “The provisions of (the state Constitution) … when construed in the light of our prior cases, gives a constitutionally preferred status to public education in this State,” Hutchison wrote. “The majority opinion denies public education the preferred status to which it is entitled under our Constitution. Such a denial requires my dissent.” “Because the West Virginia Constitution limits the Legislature to providing education through a system of free schools and because the Hope Scholarship Act does not otherwise meet the onerous burden of strict scrutiny review, I would have affirmed the circuit court,” Hutchison continued. “… The West Virginia Constitution provides that the Legislature’s obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education is limited to doing so only by a system of free schools, not through subsidizing private educational systems.” The Hope Scholarship gives parents the opportunity to use a portion of their $4,300 per student expenditure from the state school assistance formula for educational expenses such as private or religious school tuition, home schooling, tutoring, study aids, and other acceptable expenses. Since the May 15 deadline, more than 3,146 Hope grant applications have been awarded, valued at approximately $14.5 million. The program resumed in October following the dissolving of the permanent injunction, with families already approved expected to receive their Hope Scholarship funds in January for both the first and second semesters. Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.Local News
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