Widening the scope of vouchers

by David Safier

When conservatives saw vouchers were unpopular, they stuck the elephant's trunk in the tent by creating "widows and orphans" laws — vouchers for children with learning disabilities, children in foster homes and children attending failing schools. Who could object to that?

Since the 2010 elections, voucher advocates are getting bolder. They're beginning to slide more of the elephant's bulk inside the education tent. In Douglas County, Colorado, the most affluent county in the state, the conservative school board voted to allow vouchers for all students, regardless of income. It was shot down by the courts because so much of the money would flow to religious schools. Nationwide, between 70% and 80% of private schools are religious.

Now Indiana has started a voucher program broadening the base to include more students than the "widows and orphans" model.

Until Indiana started its program, most voucher systems were limited to poor students, those in failing schools or those with special needs. But Indiana's is significantly larger, offering money to students from middle-class homes and solid school districts.

Here's the stat that jumped out at me. Of the 240 private schools paricipating in the Indiana program, only 6 are secular. That's 2.5% secular schools, 97.5% religious.

Here's what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for an Islamic private school to request vouchers. Will the right wing scream about government funds used to promote "Shariah law"? What if the school has a view which is sympathetic with the concept of jihad linked to violence? Will people say that goes beyond the bounds of religious freedom?

How about a Christian school with Aryan Nation overtones? Will it be OK'd to accept government funds for students in the name of religious freedom?

A number of problems inherent in private school vouchers haven't been tested yet. The problem of the government funding religious education in a country with strict rules about religious freedom is just one of the many problems on the horizon.