Kentucky

Nightclub district’s dress code protested

The ACLU is objecting to a ban on sports jerseys, sleeveless shirts and backward baseball caps in Louisville’s new nightclub district, saying the dress code is biased against blacks and poor people.

The city has given the developer of the month-old Fourth Street Live power to enforce its dress code three nights a week during special events along the block-long stretch restaurants, bars and shops. During those nights, the city street is blocked off, and bouncers decide who does or doesn’t meet the dress code.

“If the city is going to turn over a public street to a private entity, they need to make sure it remains open to the public,” said American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky executive director Beth Wilson.

Denver

Public school vouchers ruled unconstitutional

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state’s school voucher program is unconstitutional because it strips local school boards of control over education.

Colorado’s voucher law — the first in the nation since the U.S. Supreme Court said in 2002 that voucher programs are acceptable — was never put into effect because of legal challenges.

The high court’s 4-3 decision upheld a lower court ruling.

The law would have offered vouchers of $4,500 a year to public school students to help cover their tuition at private or parochial schools.