The Case against School Vouchers

Should public funds be used to support nonpublic education? Controversy over that question has raged since the early 19th century. In the 1990s this debate centers on elementary and secondary school tuition vouchers, sometimes called "scholarships," which feature numerous plans with varying levels of aid, but they all involve public funds being spent for nonpublic education.

Voucher advocates claim that it's only fair to include nonpublic schooling in public funding for elementary and secondary education, that vouchers will promote diversity, and that school "choice" will improve the quality and effectiveness of education. But are these claims true?

The Case Against School Vouchers helps lawmakers, opinion leaders, and the public understand that voucher proposals threaten religious freedom, an already overburdened economy, the democratic structure of American education, community interfaith harmony, and the core of American values.

Should public funds be used to support nonpublic education? Controversy over that question has raged since early in the nineteenth century. Today the debate centers around elementary and secondary school tuition vouchers. Many different voucher plans have been proposed, but what they all have in common is payment from public funds for expenses incurred for nonpublic education. No one disputes the right of religious bodies to operate private schools or the right of parents to send their children to them. But should government use its taxing power to compel involuntary support for religious institutions? This book summarizes the case against school vouchers, providing evidence and documentation for each argument. The authors demonstrate that voucher proposals threaten religious freedom, an already overburdened economy, the democratic structure of American education, community interfaith harmony, and core American values.

Edd Doerr (Silver Spring, MD) is executive director of Americans for Religious Liberty and the author of Church Schools and Public Money and Religious Liberty and State Constitutions. Albert J. Menendez (Gaithersburg, MD) has served as a consultant for ABC and NBC news and has been praised for his contributions to religious debate. He is the author of The December Wars and The Perot Voters & the Future of American Politics. The Rev. John M. Swomley (Kansas City, MO), president of Americans for Religious Liberty, is Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics at the St. Paul School of Theology and the author of eight books.