Thursday, January 25, 2007

AU is criticizing Bush's proposal for school vouchers:

Republicans leaped to their feet at the mention of “school choice” for parents across the country, while Democrats applauded politely, clearly bristling at the thought of diverting desperately needed funds away from public schools.

Supporters of church-state separation have reason to bristle, too. Vouchers are not just a way to get kids out of failing schools, as advocates claim; they effectively force taxpayers to finance religious indoctrination and discrimination. ....

For example, approximately 1,800 D.C. students currently receive up to $7,500 to attend the private or charter school of their choice. Two participating schools are the Blessed Sacrament School and the Islamic Saudi Academy. A quick glance at these schools’ Web sites shows how much their curricula are infused with religion.

AU is totally missing the point. The government is not specifically endorsing religious education: it is merely equalizing the subsidization it has already introduced; namely, that state-funded education be accessible to the entire population. To allow parents and students to choose their own preferred educational establishment does not endanger the separation of church and state.

Education Vouchers
are an idea that Milton Friedman continuously advocated as a means to give students and parents more leverage in the education market. They seem to make complete libertarian sense.

Whether government-sponsored education is a good idea in the first place is an entirely separate discussion.

1 comment:

Jonathan Marshall said...

I think that last sentence is the more interesting topic...personally of course.