A new state school voucher plan is unconstitutional because it illegally takes away local control of education, a coalition led by a teachers union has told a federal judge.

The law also undermines a constitutional requirement that Colorado provide a free and uniform public school system, the group alleged on Wednesday.

An attorney arguing on behalf of the state dismissed the accusations and said the law will provide opportunities to thousands of children whose parents cannot afford to remove them from public schools.

After 2 1/2 hours of testimony in a packed courtroom, Denver District Judge Joseph Meyer took the matter under advisement and said he will issue a written ruling in a few weeks.

Parents and about 300 children from private schools rallied outside the courthouse before the hearing.

Ochi Nkululeko brought her two children, ages 10 and 12. She said she tried to work with the public school system and was rebuffed. "This helps to ensure that our children can go to the schools we choose," she said.

The court challenge, filed by a coalition of religious and education groups, is the latest battle in a nationwide fight over vouchers.

Supporters say vouchers would give poor parents a choice to take their children out of failing public schools, and in the process, motivate public schools to improve.

Opponents see vouchers as a backdoor way to give state support to religious schools, and contend they will undermine public education by siphoning off students and the tax dollars they bring.

During the hearing, attorney John West, representing the Colorado Education Association and other opponents, said the law requires school districts to have substantial control over how children are taught.

He said the voucher law robs districts of their right to determine how their tax dollars are spent. "They don't have any discretion whatever," West said.

Renny Fagan, representing the state, said lawmakers came up with an innovative program to help educate students and the state is ultimately responsible for education policy. "It has to keep up with the times," he said.

The Colorado law is the first enacted since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld Cleveland's school vouchers program as constitutional.

It requires publicly financed vouchers to be offered beginning next year to low-income children in kindergarten through 12th grade to help offset private-school tuition.

Eleven districts with eight or more schools that received low or unsatisfactory academic performance ratings must participate; other districts may choose to participate.

If all student slots are filled when the program is fully implemented in 2007-08, it will strip the 11 districts required to participate of $90 million per year, according to state budget estimates.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly rejected a challenge to the voucher program in Cleveland, saying the program is acceptable because it offers parents a wide choice of private schools. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said the program was neutral on religious grounds because parents make independent choices about where to spend the money they receive from the public school system.