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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (25163)	10/5/1998 12:13:00 AM
From: Grainne	Respond to of 108807

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Private School Vouchers: Myth vs. Fact Promoters of "educational choice" make many assertions about the positive effects of private school vouchers on America's educational system. Are these claims true? What would vouchers really do? Let's examine some of the common myths about vouchers and review the facts. MYTH: Vouchers are a constitutional way to assist parochial and other private schools. FACT: Vouchers will still result in tax dollars flowing to private sectarian schools. Sectarian schools account for 85 percent of the total private school enrollment in the United States. These schools serve as arms of religious ministries and incorporate religious values and doctrine throughout their curriculum, indoctrinating students on controversial subjects such as abortion, creationism and the role of women in society. The U.S. Constitution's church-state separation provisions prohibit government from subsidizing sectarian education, either directly or indirectly. As a result, federal and state courts have repeatedly struck down various schemes designed to funnel tax dollars into religious schools. The fact that parents may "choose" the private school is legally irrelevant, because public funds will still be used for religious instruction. Voucher plans have been struck down in Puerto Rico, Ohio and Vermont, even when the laws also provided funds for public school choice. MYTH: The people support vouchers and other forms of aid to parochial and other private schools. FACT: Voters in 19 states and the District of Columbia have rejected various forms of parochial school aid in ballot referenda. Most recently, Washington voters disapproved a voucher proposal by a two-thirds margin, while in 1993, California voters trounced a voucher initiative 70 percent to 30 percent. State legislatures also have consistently voted down voucher proposals. Only two states have implemented voucher plans, both of which have been very controversial and have resulted in drawn-out court battles. The driving forces behind vouchers are not parents, but sectarian school lobbies, the Religious Right and free-market ideologues. MYTH: Vouchers will ensure "parental choice" in education. FACT: When it comes to private schools, the concept of parental choice is meaningless. Private school administrators have the only real choice concerning which children are admitted to the schools and which are not. They may reject virtually anyone applying to attend or to teach in private schools. No voucher plan will change this fact. MYTH: Vouchers will make public schools better by promoting competition in education. FACT: There is simply no evidence to support this assertion. Public and private schools don't compete on an even playing field. Public schools must accept all children regardless of academic ability, physical handicap or family background. Private schools may reject any child with problems and enroll only the academically gifted. Also, competition implies there will be winners and losers; that may be fine for breakfast cereals, but it could be disastrous for schools. Public schools will improve only if our government officials and the public decide to make a serious commitment to educational quality. Diverting money from public schools to private schools will not achieve this goal, but will hurt the nation's public education system. MYTH: The American public school system is failing our children. FACT: New studies indicate that American students are among the best educated in the world. The U.S. has one of the highest graduation rates and U.S. schools steer more students to college than does any other country, even though many of those countries weed out mediocre students. Academic achievement among U.S. students — with the majority educated in public school — continues to rise. Polls show that the vast majority of parents support the public schools their children attend and believe those schools are doing a good job. Vouchers will impede the public school system by draining the funding necessary to provide quality education for all children. MYTH: Private schools provide a better education than public schools. FACT: According to a Money magazine study, private schools rank no better scholastically than comparable public schools. In essence, the best private schools are no better than the best public schools, and the average private school is no better than the average public school. Moreover, recent studies of the Milwaukee and Cleveland plans have indicated that participation in choice programs does not result in significant educational improvement among students. MYTH: Vouchers can be limited to certain private schools. FACT: Courts have ruled consistently that the government may not play favorites among religions or classes of people. Attempts to limit vouchers to traditional parochial schools would only raise an equal protection claim of religious discrimination. Therefore, if enacted, voucher subsidies would be available for any private school, even those run by unusual or radical groups with theologies or political views that most Americans may find distasteful. MYTH: Vouchers will correct the injustice of "double taxation" for private school parents, who must pay to support a public school system they don't use. FACT: "Double taxation" does not exist. Private school tuition is not a tax; it is an additional expense some parents have chosen to pay. All members of society are expected to support certain basic public services such as the police and fire departments, libraries and the public schools, whether they use them or not. (Childless couples and single people, for instance, must still pay school taxes.) We all have a vested interest in maintaining a strong public school system to make certain that our people are educated. Under a voucher plan, all taxpayers will face double taxation. They will have to pay for public schools, then pay increased taxes to make up for funds being channeled to parochial and other private schools. MYTH: A voucher plan would empower poor families. FACT: Private schools often charge high tuition. Since vouchers usually will not cover the full cost of tuition, the wealthy, who can already afford to pay private school tuition, will benefit the most. Low and middle-income families, who will not be able to afford the difference between the voucher and tuition costs, will be less likely to benefit. Even if poor families could come up with the full tuition amount, few private schools are located in the nation's inner cities or other economically depressed areas. Fewer still are likely to admit children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In any event, no voucher plan will benefit more than a small number of poor children. Public schools remain the only reliable educational resource for all American children. MYTH: Private schools would be able to maintain their independence while benefiting from a voucher program. FACT: As a general rule, the government regulates what it subsidizes. If the government underwrites private schools financially, it has a right and an obligation to ensure that the funds are being spent for sound educational services. Greater government scrutiny of private education will be inevitable. Vouchers open the door to extensive state regulation of private schools. ******* Americans voluntarily support a wide variety of religious institutions and schools. They should not be forced to pay taxes for schools that teach religious views they disagree with. Vouchers are merely the first step toward full state funding of religious schools. Bookstore Information Americans United Home PageLegislative Information ©Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 1998