Religious/Private Schools Have The ‘Choice,’ But Want Taxpayers To Foot The Bill, Says AU’s Lynn
Sectarian
lobbies and right-wing interest groups are waging war on the public
school system, and “National School Choice Week” is part of that effort,
according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
From
Jan. 27-Feb. 2, pro-private school forces are sponsoring hundreds of
events around the country that supposedly promote “effective education
options for every child.” In fact, civil liberties advocates say the
real goal is enactment of voucher schemes that undercut public schools
and subsidize religious and other private schools with taxpayer dollars.
Event
sponsors include the Heritage Foundation, the National Catholic
Educational Association, the American Legislative Exchange Council and
Betsy DeVos’ Alliance for School Choice.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “No one should be fooled. This is a carefully orchestrated propaganda exercise to promote voucher aid to religious and other private schools.
“This isn’t about ‘choice,’” he continued. “It’s about diverting taxpayer dollars from the public schools to private schools that are free to discriminate and indoctrinate. With vouchers, it’s private school authorities, not parents, who have the choice.”
Lynn noted that aggressive voucher
crusades are expected in legislatures in Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Alaska, Indiana, Maine and other states.
Lynn said
repeated studies have shown that voucher students perform no better
academically than their public school counterparts, yet sectarian and
ideological interests are still demanding that taxpayers subsidize
private school tuition.
Voters in 24 state referenda have overwhelmingly rejected proposals intended to divert public dollars to private schools.
For more information about the myriad problems with vouchers and other “school choice” schemes, visit AU’s special Web page: voucherFAIL
Americans
United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C.
Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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