With several lawmakers expressing frustration at the chronic problems of the Orleans Parish school system, the House gave historic approval Thursday to a voucher program that would let students in the city's failing elementary schools use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition.

The 62-37 vote was the first time either chamber of the Legislature has approved school voucher legislation, said Kirby Ducote, a longtime lobbyist for the Louisiana Catholic Conference who has been pushing the concept for decades. Ducote is now retired and working for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which is one of the primary backers of House Bill 613 by Rep. Tim Burns, R-Mandeville.

The Rev. William Maestri, superintendent of archdiocesan schools, called this a "historic" week in the Legislature. He noted that the measure not only passed in the House but that the House Education Committee, which has been a graveyard for voucher legislation, earlier approved the measure by a 13-1 vote.

Despite the solid majority in the House, the proposal faces an uncertain future as it moves to the Senate. After the vote, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she does not support vouchers, preferring to focus on fixing the public schools that are failing.

Blanco did not go so far as to say she would veto the proposal, but she said, "I hope it doesn't get to me." She was present during the voucher debate in the House, trying to round up votes for her proposal to increase the cigarette tax to fund teacher raises.

The voucher proposal was opposed by most of the New Orleans House delegation, but lawmakers from other parts of the state -- including some who have traditionally opposed vouchers -- said something new needs to happen to help students at failing schools in the city.

"For 10 years I have served on the Education Committee. For 10 years we have done everything (the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education) asked. For 10 years we have failed the kids in the school system in New Orleans," said Rep. Lelon Kenney, D-Columbia. "It is time we try something different, folks."

Both Blanco and state Education Superintendent Cecil Picard said they thought House members were expressing frustration with the Orleans situation, where more than half of students attend schools that have been designated as failing based on low test scores, attendance and other benchmarks. At the same time, the financial management of the system has been plagued by chaos and incompetence and has drawn investigations into possible mismanagement.

"They want to send a message that they are serious," Blanco said.

Wealth of opposition

Vouchers are strongly opposed by teachers unions and other groups who argue that using public financing to pay for private school tuition will drain resources from the public schools left behind by the students.

Opponents note that private schools are not required to take all students, especially those with special needs who are often more difficult, and expensive, to educate. With Burns' legislation, private schools would not have to accept students with disciplinary problems, critics said during debate in the House committee.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, attempted to amend the bill to apply to any district in the state that has failing schools, noting that though Orleans might have the most "academically unacceptable" schools, such schools also exist elsewhere in the state.

"I am trying to treat New Orleans like the rest of the state," he said, adding that voucher supporters should approve of allowing any student in any failing school to go to a private school with taxpayer support.

But Burns objected to that amendment, saying it would kill the bill. He also said that as a four-year pilot program, the voucher proposal should be centered on one area of the state. The amendment to broaden the bill's application failed 34-67.

The legislation is not limited to low-income families, but Burns said he thought that parents with children attending academically unacceptable schools would most likely be unable to pay for private school tuition on their own.

Possible lottery

It is unclear exactly how many private schools would open their doors to these students beyond those run by the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

During testimony at the House Education Committee, Maestri said there are as many as 1,200 openings in his system. If demand to attend a particular school exceeded the available slots, the bill calls for an admissions lottery to be held, overseen by the state Department of Education.

Tuition for the elementary parochial schools in New Orleans is less than the state's share of the per-pupil expense for students in the Orleans Parish school system, Maestri said.

Any school that accepted voucher students would be required to administer the state's testing program, although the language of the bill seems to limit the testing to the students who receive the vouchers. The students' test results would be collected to provide a "composite score" for the private school, much like the scores available for public schools.

By a 48-52 vote, the House rejected an amendment that would have made the testing requirement apply to any student at the private school, including those who do not receive vouchers.

Positive signs

Addressing lawmakers' frustrations with the Orleans Parish school system, Rep. Karen Carter, D-New Orleans, said the situation is improving, noting that School Board President Torin Sanders had reached an agreement Wednesday with Picard for a private turnaround firm to take over the system's finances. Carter emphasized that Blanco has pledged to work with New Orleans school system leaders.

"We have a long way to go in Orleans," Carter said. "I submit to you that we have made some progress, and we will continue to make progress if we work together."

Though most Democrats in the New Orleans delegation voted against the proposal, Rep. Austin Badon, who represents a district in eastern New Orleans, said he thought it made sense to offer an option to students stuck in failing schools.

"I think some people hear vouchers and automatically throw up their hands," he said, adding that the archdiocese has come up with a "good plan" that will assist at least some of the students.