Vouchers
& Charter Schools
Question:
What do you think of vouchers and charter schools? Are you
for or against them?
Answer:
I can best answer your question with a quote from the
glossary in Brave New Schools and the corresponding footnotes. Those who have my
book can find these at the end of the footnote section in the appendix. The
"strings" attached to vouchers apply all the more to charter schools, which
also release the state from many laws that protect parents:
vouchers:
Tuition credits used by parents to pay for their child's education in a
private school of their choice. The catch: any school accepting these vouchers must
conform to national goals and standards. "A
simple fact of political life is that public regulation follows money.... Private
schools that operate with public money will be
subject to public regulations...." "Changes,
big changes, are needed," wrote Albert
Shanker, President of the American Federation of Teachers. "...it
may be that we can't get the big changes we need without choice."
In
March, 1984, the U.S. Supreme court ruled that private schools are subject to
government regulations even if they receive no direct federal funds. The Court ruled six to three that a private school may
be held accountable for federal rules because it enrolls students who receive tuition
money from the government. Even though the checks are payable to individual students,
not the school, the Court said any
scholarships, loans, or grants to students "constitute federal financial
assistance to that entity." The opinion, written by Justice Buron R.White, found
that the language of the law "contains no hint that Congress perceived a
substantive difference between direct institutional assistance and aid received by a
school through its student."
On
March 22, 1988, P.L. 100-259 became the law of the land. "The measure would extend the reach of four civil right measures
that were limited by a 1984 U.S. Supreme court ruling, Grove City College v. Bell. The
ruling said that only the 'program or activity' of an entity receiving federal funds,
not the entire institution, was covered by anti-discrimination laws. The legislation would reverse the ruling and
make it clear that the
entire institution must not discriminate if any component receives federal aid."
(Congressional Quarterly Weekly, p. 774) Cited by Virginia Birt Baker, "Educational 'Choice'"
Free World Research Report, March 1993.
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