"Vouchers are bad for our children and our community," said Rev. Larry Mays, pastor of Waters of Life Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio and a member of People For the American Way's African American Ministers Leadership Council.

"They drain public dollars from our public schools and send that money to private schools, where it benefits only a few schoolchildren. Our efforts and our taxes should be used to create outstanding public schools for all our children."

"Ohio is a fertile target in the nationwide right-wing attack on public education," said PFAWF President Carole Shields. "Our kids deserve strong public schools -- not schools ruined and abandoned by conservative politicians."

People For the American Way Foundation, along with a coalition of other civil liberty and education groups, is co-counsel to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a group of Ohio parents and taxpayers.

Last year, the Ohio Court of Appeals struck down the voucher law, ruling that it violates both the U.S. Constitution and the Ohio Constitution. The court ruled that because the law provides "direct and substantial, non-neutral government aid to sectarian schools," it has the primary effect of advancing religion.

Of the 53 private schools that registered to participate in the program during the 1996-97 school year, approximately 80 percent were sectarian in nature -- meaning their primary mission is to teach religious doctrine.

People For the American Way Foundation also is involved in lawsuits challenging vouchers for religious schools in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maine and Vermont.

On August 31, PFAWF asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the Wisconsin voucher plan. The Court could announce this fall whether it will accept the case.