Court upholds school vouchers: Taxes can be used to send students to parochial schools

["Dale Courtney" <dmcourtn@moscow.com>]

The first step to bringing economic forces to bear on the government
school monopoly...

_______________________________________________

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the use of taxpayer-paid school
vouchers to send children to private schools, finding that a Cleveland
program does not violate the Constitution's church-state doctrine even
though the majority of students use the vouchers to attend parochial
schools.

THE 5-4 RULING led by the court's conservative majority lowers the
figurative wall separating church and state and clears a constitutional
cloud from school vouchers, a divisive education idea dear to political
conservatives and championed by President Bush. 

Opponents call vouchers a fraud meant to siphon tax money from
struggling public schools. 
The court endorsed a 6-year-old pilot program in inner-city Cleveland
that provides parents a tax-supported education stipend. 

Parents may use the money to opt out of one of the worst-rated public
schools in the nation. 

The court majority said the program does not put the government in the
unconstitutional position of sponsoring religious indoctrination, even
though more than 95 percent of the vouchers are used to subsidize
Catholic or other religious schooling.   

Congress last year shelved bills authorizing school vouchers. But Bush
resurrected the idea, proposing in his 2003 budget to give families up
to $2,500 per child in tax credits if they choose a private school
rather than a failing neighborhood public school. 

Following the court's hearing on arguments in February, Education
Secretary Rod Paige said he would continue advocating on behalf of both
improved public schools and school choice. 

In another schools case Thursday, the court approved random drug tests
for many public high school students, saying anti-drug concerns outweigh
an individual's right to privacy. That vote also was 5-4. 

The Cleveland program, financed by the state, helped pay tuition for
about 4,500 students, all but a few of whom used them to attend
church-affiliated schools.   
    
The court heard arguments in the case in February, amid dueling
demonstrations by voucher supporters and opponents. 

Proponents said the program offers an opportunity for low-income
students to flee failing inner-city schools, while critics argued that
the voucher program violates the principle of separation of church and
state.
       
Both sides have waged major public relations battles, including
television ads featuring black parents who support the voucher concept
as a ticket away from failing inner-city schools.