Public Aid to Parochial Schools J. Brent Walker, General Counsel Baptist Joint Committee Washington, D.C. Public aid to parochial schools is constitutionally suspect, bad public policy, and disruptive of the autonomy of religious organizations. Schemes to provide such aid are not improved by couching them in the attractive rubric of "parental choice". Inevitably it is the private schools, not the parents, who exercise the choice. Should tax dollars be spent for religious education? Is aid to parochial schools desirable or even constitutional? Does aid open the door for government regulation of parochial schools? The answer to these questions is 'no, no and yes.' Nevertheless, there are those who would like to see parochial schools receive public funding. Some simply want to have their children's religious education paid for by someone else. Others advocate such programs out of a belief that competition will improve the public school system. Still others, with less noble motives, see this as an opportunity to destroy the public school system and "privatize" public education. Most recently these schemes have been couched in the deceptively attractive rhetoric of "parental choice". Although the freedom to choose is a good thing, when it becomes a vehicle for funding parochial schools it is constitutionally suspect, bad public policy and disruptive of the autonomy of religious organizations. Constitutionality. The Supreme Court has time and time again ruled that aid to parochial schools at the elementary and secondary levels violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. While some non-financial aid has been upheld, these exceptional cases have involved benefits conferred directly on the students and available to all regardless of whether they attend public or private schools. Decisions prohibiting aid to parochial schools are grounded in the fact that such schools are "pervasively sectarian" institutions. That is, every aspect of parochial education at the elementary and secondary levels includes religious training and indoctrination of some kind or another. It is, thus, impossible to isolate and fund secular activities at parochial schools. These constitutional infirmities cannot be cured by relabeling the program "choice" or by issuing parents vouchers to "spend" at parochial schools. Significant tax dollars, in any case, will eventually be paid directly to the parochial schools. Fairness. Common fairness requires that government not tax people to support teaching of religious beliefs with which they disagree. All parents have the right to choose to send their children to parochial schools. But they don't have the right to choose other taxpayers to help them do it. On the other hand, it is not unfair to require all citizens to support the public school system. Public schools benefit all citizens without regard to whether they actually use them. Parents who send their children to parochial schools are no more entitled to tax relief or a voucher than the person who chooses not use the public library or swim in the public swimming pool. Americans simply do not have a cafeteria-style system of public services where people support only the programs they like. Taxation without Representation/Double Taxation. Those who presently pay tuition for parochial education are not subject to "double taxation" as many claim. Parochial school tuition is not a "tax." It is an expense some parents voluntarily have undertaken to pay for religious education. If anything, it is choice plans themselves that impose double taxation: taxes for the public schools and more taxes to pay for the dollars channeled to parochial schools. Competition will not improve public education. Putting public schools in competition with private schools will not improve the public school system. Public and private schools live by different rules. The public school must take every student regardless of intelligence, handicap or socio-economic status. Private and parochial schools are able to screen students and pick and choose among the best and brightest. Because of these and other differences, public and private schools simply do not compete on a level playing field. Trying to reform the public schools by funding parochial schools is like trying to improve the public water supply by investing in Perrier, or attempting to upgrade the public library by assisting persons in stocking their own private studies. Bi-partisan opposition. Neither party, Democratic or Republican, should find aid to parochial schools appealing. No true Republican would endorse another expensive entitlement program that opens the door for governmental regulation of religious institutions and cuts the cord of fiscal accountability for public expenditures. No true Democrat would choose to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots. Even the most generous of voucher plans will not allow the poorest of our children to afford most private school tuition. For them "choice" is a cruel joke. It is simply "welfare for the already well off." Autonomy in Governmental Regulation. Aid to parochial schools opens the door for government regulation of religious institutions and jeopardizes their autonomy. Government aid always drags behind it the strings of government regulation. Religious organizations must continue to be free from government regulation in order to teach according to its religious beliefs. The cost of this freedom is the churches' refusal to accept offers of public assistance. Public Opinion. A majority of people in this country are opposed to private school aid. Over the last three decades, 19 referenda have been defeated in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Only one has passed. Most people do not want, nor see a need for, aid of this sort. Notable Quotes Justice Hugo Black - "No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion." Thomas Jefferson - ". . . to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." =================================================== How to Win: A Practical Guide for Defeating the Radical Right in Your Community Copyright 1994 by Radical Right Task Force Permission is granted to reproduce this publication in whole or in part. All other rights reserved. For more information contact: Pat Lewis National Jewish Democratic Council 711 Second Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 544-7636 =================================================== This document is from the Politics section of the WELL gopher server: gopher://gopher.well.com/11/Politics/ Questions and comments to: gopher@well.com .