Judge hearing LEARNS lawsuit plans to apply for voucher program, won’t recuse himself
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A federal judge assigned to a lawsuit challenging a portion of the Arkansas LEARNS Act is planning to apply for a voucher under the law but won’t recuse himself from the case, according to an order.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky was assigned to the case on March 25 and disclosed on March 29 to the parties involved his intentions to apply for an Educational Freedom Account, a school voucher program for state funding that can be used for private school tuition and various other education-related expenses.
“I want to disclose to the parties that my family intends to apply for an Education Freedom Account,” Rudofsky said in the order. “I do not believe this requires my recusal under either the recusal statute or the applicable judicial canons. If any party disagrees, that party should file a recusal motion within seven (7) days of the date of this Order.”
African American Studies students sue over Arkansas LEARNS Act ‘indoctrination’ section
Rudofsky has previously written about his support of vouchers in 2000 with an article in the Cornell Review called “Validating Vouchers: Privatization Is the Last, Best Hope for Public Education Reform.”
The EFA program expanded on April 1, allowing students attending schools with a “D” grade or lower and children of veterans and first responders to apply for a voucher.
The lawsuit over which Rudofsky is presiding alleged that a section in the LEARNS Act that bans the “indoctrination” of students is unconstitutional and infringes on the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
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