August 13, 2011 01:22 AM UTC

BREAKING: Injunction Granted Halting DougCo School Vouchers

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• by: Colorado Pols

That’s the word from Ed News Colorado:

Denver District Judge Michael Martinez has granted a preliminary injunction halting the Douglas County voucher pilot. Douglas County school officials have scheduled a 5 p.m. press conference to answer questions.

Martinez presided over last week’s three-day hearing in which attorneys representing Dougco parents and civil-liberties groups argued the pilot should be suspended while legal challenges surrounding the first-of-its-kind plan are resolved…

An appeal of today’s ruling is expected.

FOX 31 has more on Judge Michael Martinez’s ruling:

During a three-day hearing, it was disclosed that the Douglas County School District signed contracts with 23 private partner schools, most of which are religious institutions, to launch the program.

“The overwhelming undisputed evidence and testimony in the record…confirms that, not only is the risk of religion intruding into the secular educational function great, that risk is inevitable and unavoidable due to the very structure of the Scholarship Program,” [Pols emphasis] said District Court Judge Michael Martinez in granting the injunction.