School Vouchers

A School Voucher by Any Other Name

By Heather L. Weaver, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 11:25am

Thirty million. That’s the amount of tax dollars that could be diverted annually from New Hampshire’s coffers to private schools by the year 2022 if the state is allowed to implement its new Education Tax Credit Program. Under the tax credit program, in exchange for donations to “scholarship organizations,” New Hampshire businesses will receive tax credits equal to 85 percent of the amount they donate. The scholarship organizations, in turn, will use the funds to award scholarships to private school students, including those attending religious schools. In short, rather than paying their taxes to the state, businesses will instead be able to direct money owed to the state toward religious education.

School Vouchers Inflict More Harm Than Good

By Heather L. Weaver, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 10:52am

One of the great American ideals is that everyone has an equal chance to succeed in life. A cornerstone of this ideal is our public education system. American public schools are meant to ensure that every child — regardless of race, religion, or background — has access to a good education. At their best, our public schools establish a common foundation upon which an informed democratic citizenry can be built.

Your Money's Good Here, It's You That's the Problem

By Daniel Bullard-Bates, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 4:15pm

The Douglas County School District in Colorado plans to implement a new voucher program in the coming school year. Up to 500 district students will be "counted" as public school students for the purpose of obtaining state funding, but the funding will actually go to the private schools that participating students will attend. Any student is qualified to participate, as long as he or she can gain admission to an approved "Private School Partner." That shouldn't be a problem — unless the student is gay, HIV-positive, non-Christian, or just doesn't go to church every Sunday.

This Week in Civil Liberties (9/2/2011)

By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU at 5:03pm

What major telecom company participated in warrantless wiretapping?

Which former leader has no regrets about Bush Administration torture policies?

What supposedly quick fix to public education deficiencies endangers the separation between church and state?

What group is entitled to due process according to a US Court of Appeals case from this week?

Who did NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg endanger by failing to prepare adequately for Hurricane Irene?

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