Ever since the state of Louisiana began its voucher program, allowing students to attend religious schools with public funds, the program has gone from one embarrassment to another. The school that won the most vouchers was a small rural church school; it was thrown out if the program for financial errors. Some schools taught creationism. The state court ruled that the state could not fund vouchers by taking money from funding dedicated to public schools.

And now this. Danielle Dreillinger reports in the Néw Orleans Times-Picayune that 1/3 of the state’s voucher students attend low-performing schools.

“One third of Louisiana’s voucher students are enrolled at private schools doing such a poor job of educating them that the schools have been barred from taking new voucher students, according to Education Department data. The schools include four in Jefferson Parish, eight in New Orleans and six in Baton Rouge.

“The Louisiana Scholarship Program lets children from low-income families attend participating private schools at taxpayer expense if they have been at C-, D- or F-graded public schools or are entering kindergarten. Now in its third year, the program has been threatened by local and federal lawsuits, but total enrollment continues growing, from 6,775 in 2013-14 to 7,362 students this year.”