Congress to debate school vouchers

Christian Century, April 19, 1995

Senators Dan Coats (R., Ind.) and Joseph Lieberman (D., Conn.) have introduced legislation into Congress that would permit low-income parents to receive federal funds to send their children to private and religious schools. "Our bottom line is to provide the best educational opportunities to American children," Coats declared in a statement announcing the proposal for a pilot voucher plan.

The bill, the Low Income School Choice Demonstration, would cost $30 million over three years. Under the bill the secretary of education would select ten to 26 school districts to participate in the pilot project. The district would distribute the federally financed vouchers, in a method similar to that used for food stamp coupons, to low-income families. Their ability to use the vouchers would be determined by whether their children were eligible for the federal school lunch program. The vouchers could then be turned into any private school in the district to help pay tuition costs.

"Until now, largely middle- and upper-income families have been able to choose the best school for their children," Coats said. "I think all families should have that choice, and my bill provides an opportunity to study how well that concept would work." Lieberman commented that while there are many excellent public schools "it is clear that public schools are not working for all students, particularly those in our poorest communities. "We should try to give more children who live in poverty the same kind of educational choices other students have," he argued. A similar Senate bill was defeated 53-41 during the last Congress.

Although the Coats-Lieberman bill calls only for setting up pilot projects, it is likely to be the flashpoint this year in the two-decade fight between advocates and opponents of aid to schools run by churches, synagogues or mosques where religious instruction is part of the curriculum. That fight has been going on since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a voucher-style program in New York state. While polls indicate that many Americans are unhappy with public schools and the education they provide, the voucher movement has in recent years suffered setbacks both at the polls and in the courts.

The Coats-Lieberman proposal immediately drew fire from the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "Public funds may not be used for private religious purposes," said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "No tax dollars may be directed into the coffers of private religious schools."

But Richard Cizik, policy analyst in the Washington office of the National Association of Evangelicals, welcomed the Coats-Lieberman bill as reflecting a decade-old NAE position. "Our opinion is that this [voucher system] is the way to go with education, health and welfare benefits," Cizik said. He pointed to the use of vouchers in the current federal child care program allowing recipients to use their vouchers for religiously based child care providers.

But Lynn took issue with the comparison. "Religious instruction must be paid for only through the voluntary contributions of church members," he maintained. "Forcing taxpayers to support church schools through a voucher system is nothing less than a religion tax."