Education Secretary calls for 'school choice,' while right-wing cries 'amen!'

U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige has strongly endorsed education "choice," much to the delight of sectarian school lobbyists and Religious Right leaders, who say the move is long overdue.

Paige, speaking at a conference of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), a voucher front group run out of Marquette University, said public education cannot be reformed without options.

"While America enjoys a voyage of choice and freedom, our education system missed the boat," Paige said at the conference in Philadelphia Feb. 28. "It's surprising that a country that says it values education hasn't powered it up with the energy of choice. But it's not just a surprise. It's a disgrace."

Paige asserted that "choice" helps public education and "brings us closer to equality." He refrained from using the word "voucher" during the,speech but did talk extensively about President George W. Bush's proposal to create a refundable tax credit to cover the cost of tuition at religious and other private schools. Critics have blasted the proposal as a backdoor voucher.

"Instead of handing over more dollars to the system, this tax credit would allow families to use their own money to make their own decisions," Paige said. "The tax credit is refundable, which means it even helps families too poor to pay taxes."

Paige praised BAEO for its work, saying, "The more liberty we give to parents, the more they will understand and value it. The more we tell people about freedom, the more they will demand it. You are the prophets of parental choice. You have a great American message. Preach it boldly."

The Family Research Council (FRC), a Religious Right group in Washington, reprinted excerpts from Paige's speech in its weekly e-mail update, saying Paige "passionately promoted parental choice in education."

Officials with the Roman Catholic Church, however, want an expansion of the Bush tax credit. Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference told The National Catholic Register that the Bush tax credit does not go far enough.

"It provides no help to lower- and middle-income parents who are currently struggling to pay for their children's Catholic education," she said.

To remedy that situation, U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would give private and home-schooling parents a tax credit of $2,500 per child per year in elementary schools and a $3,500 credit for secondary school students.

Asserting that the proposal is an "idea whose time has come," Smith insisted that Catholic school parents should get a break because they pay for schooling twice.

Copyright Americans United for Separation of Church and State Apr 2002
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