Written by Don Byrd
The U.S. Department of Education released a report last week (pdf) evaluating the current state of the D.C. school voucher program (called “Opportunity Scholarships”). Their findings indicate what many church-state advocates warn about voucher schemes: they are primarily vehicles for sending taxpayer money to schools with religious affiliation.
64% of participating schools have a religious affiliation (compared to 29% of non-participating schools), according to the report. Statistics gathered by the Education Department also show a broad decline in the number of applicants from its high mark in 2005. In 2012, fewer than 5% of eligible DC students applied for vouchers.
The Baptist Joint Committee has long opposed school vouchers and urged Congress in 2011 not to re-authorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships program (while the Senate initially took the BJC’s advice and voted against re-upping the program, it was included in a subsequent budget compromise that passed.) As BJC General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman wrote during the reauthorization debate:
While we affirm the right of parents to choose a religious education for their children, we oppose using public funds to support religion. Religious teachings should be funded by voluntary contributions, not through compulsory taxation. Voucher programs that provide tuition to religious schools violate the freedom of conscience of taxpayers who have the right to insist that the government remain neutral in matters of religion. In addition, government funding of religious education tends to jeopardize the autonomy of religious schools, bringing regulations or political pressures that threaten the schools’ religious character.
