The Reason(s) for Vouchers

Thanks to Rob for the links and summaries to his school-voucher-related scholarship. As Rob and I have discussed on several occasions, (and as I've argued in an article of my own) I believe that the school-choice argument needs to be framed not only in terms of competition, of academic success, or even of providing financial assistance to the poor. (To be clear: The benefits of competition, the academic strengths of many religious schools, and the urgent need to do a better job of educating children from low-income families are all good reasons, in my view, to support school choice). The argument for educational choice, and for religion-inclusive school-choice programs, also and importantly sounds in subsidiarity and religious freedom. Thus, while I agree that, in a world of financial scarcity and political realities, there are good reason to structure voucher programs in such a way that the needs of the poor are targeted first, I would not want to lose sight of the fact that parents have a fundamental right to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children and that the meaningful capacity to select and attend a religious school is essential to authentic religious freedom.

Rick