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Florida’s Supreme Court has tossed out two statewide ballot initiatives aimed at ending a longstanding ban on public funding for religious institutions, drawing praise from church-state watchdogs.

Civil liberties groups had filed suit to remove the amendments headed for the November ballot, which sought to rewrite the state constitution to allow church groups to participate in government programs and pave the way for school voucher programs.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which supported the plaintiffs in the case, hailed the August 28 ruling.