Parents are the First Teachers: U.S. Supreme Court Hears Important School Choice

Catholic Online ^ | 11/4/10 | Deacon Keith Fournier

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On November 3, 2010, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn. The Court was asked to consider the constitutionality of an Arizona law which gives residents a State tax credit when they donate to what are called "School Tuition organizations." These organizations in turn provide assistance to students. Arizona has at least 55 of these "School Tuition Organizations". They have distributed $50 million to 27,000 students. These grants have enabled needy students to attend 370 private schools in grades K-12. This includes religious schools, if the parents so choose.

The Catholic Church operated two such scholarship organizations. Ron Johnson, the Executive Director of the Arizona Catholic Conference called parental choice in education "one of our largest priorities." He noted that similar organizations exist for other religiously affiliated schools. In fact, under the State program any religious or private entity can establish such a scholarship organization in order to distribute such funds. The Arizona program began in 1997.

The ACLU has argued that since religiously based schools are even involved in the program, this fact alone somehow violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This sets the establishment clause on its head. It was intended to prevent the State from forcing adherence to one State religion. In that sense it was meant to be an "anti-establishment" clause. The ACLU seeks to prevent religious people and institutions from participating fully in society. Advocates of the program point out that the government does not collect or distribute the scholarship funds. Rather, it is handled entirely by individuals and private organizations. Further, no one religion is favored over another. Religious schools are simply a part of the program, along with many other options.

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Parental choice in education is right for our children, right for our parents and right for our Nation. The current overly federalized approach to the provision of education in the United States is failing. Statistics and experience confirm the obvious. It is time for a change and parental (school) choice is that change. It means affirming again, as a matter of public policy and legislation, that Parents are the ones who should be able to make the choice of how to best extend their own teaching mission outside of the home. The family is the first government and the first school house. We have forgotten that objective truth as a Nation and we are reaping the bad consequences. Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn could help change all of that.

[FreedomProtector]

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[Padams]

Georgia has a similar tax credit program. The schools must use the money for financial aid for children leaving a public school for private school.

[Elvina]

Thanks for posting this. I had not heard about this case. I absolutely can’t stand writing a giant check for property tax for our horrible public schools, right after I start scraping together the monthly payments for Catholic Schools. Government schools are an absolute failure, and nowhere in the Constitution does it provide for them.

[Mrs. Don-o]

In his Apostolic Exhortation on the family, “Familiaris Consortio”, the Venerable John Paul wrote: “The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others...”

In his “Letter to Families” the late Pope wrote “Parents are the first and most important educators of their own children, and they also possess a fundamental competence in this area; they are educators because they are parents. They share their educational mission with other individuals or institutions, such as the Church and the State. But the mission of education must always be carried out in accordance with a proper application of the Principle of Subsidiarity.”

Thanks. Just adding this to my collection of teachings about Subsidiarity.