Schwartz v. Lopez, and Duncan v. State of Nevada
- Go to:
- Litigation
- Outcomes
- Why it Matters
- Effects
Litigation: Challenging Nevada’s Education Savings Account program, the largest in the nation when enacted in 2015. Opposed to educational choice program: American Civil Liberties Union Foundation; American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada; Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Association of Wisconsin School Administrators; Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; Education Law Center; Foundation for Excellence in Education; Hindu American Foundation; Horace Mann League; Las Vegas NAACP; Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; National Education Association; National School Boards Association; Network for Public Education; Nevada Association of School Boards; Nevada State Education Association; Southern Poverty Law Center; Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools; Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators. In support: American Federation for Children; Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Dr. Patrick J. Wolf; Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice; Hispanics for School Choice; Institute for Justice; School Choice Wisconsin; Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Outcomes: Parents won at the trial court level in Duncan v. State of Nevada and lost at the trial court level in Lopez v. Schwartz. The Nevada Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of education savings accounts but ruled that the method used by the legislature to fund the program was done in such a way that the result was no funding at all for the program due to constitutional provisions that blocked funding in the manner prescribed by the legislature for this program.
Why it Matters: This litigation was a great victory in establishing the constitutionality of education savings accounts and school choice generally in Nevada. However, this victory was bittersweet due to the conclusion that funding for the program was invalid; the court concluded that the “education savings account program is without an appropriation to support its operation.”
Effects: Parents were encouraged by the court ruling and expected their legislators to fund the program. Sadly, after the ruling there was a change in legislative control and the new leadership not only refused to fund the ESA, but they also voted to repeal the program in 2019. Nonetheless, Nevada remains a state where ESAs are constitutional and may be adopted in future years.
Amicus Brief