Parents in North Carolina filed a lawsuit against the state’s voucher program on grounds that it discriminates against them because of their religious beliefs. Through the voucher program, the state sends public funds to religious schools that do not accept the children of these plaintiffs because of their religious beliefs. Therefore the plaintiffs argue that the voucher program encourages religious discrimination.
The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the private school voucher known as the “Opportunity Scholarship Program” established in 2013 by the North Carolina General Assembly.
Major tenets of the lawsuit are:
“The Program sends millions of taxpayer dollars to private schools without imposing any meaningful educational requirements. As implemented, many of the Program’s funds are directed to schools that divide communities on religious lines, disparage many North Carolinians’ faiths and identities, and coerce families into living under religious dictates and The Program as implemented funds discrimination on the basis of religion. Families’ ability to participate in the Program is limited by their religious beliefs and their willingness to cede control of their faith to a religious school,” The Program as implemented funds discrimination on the basis of religion. Families’ ability to participate in the Program is limited by their religious beliefs and their willingness to cede control of their faith to a religious school.
This is an interesting approach. Typically, litigants claim that they are denied access to public funds because of their religious beliefs. In this lawsuit, the litigants say they are denied access to publicly funded religious schools because of their religious faith and that the voucher program should be held unconstitutional because it discriminates against them and their children on religious grounds.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is an interesting case on religious discrimination. I expected that atheists would try to challenge such laws, but I didn’t think other Christian sects would challenge it. It does make sense though. Not all protestant sects share the same beliefs a hundred percent., and there are variations of beliefs among catholic sects as well. We mostly think about Roman Catholics, but there are Greek Catholics, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian and more. I could also see someone challenging the voucher law on the basis of sexual orientation as well, which recently became a protected class. Mixing politics and religion opens up Pandora’s box of interpretations.
Horace Mann is still relevant. He urged that public schools be free of religious doctrine more than 150 years ago.
and trying to put all modern-day citizens back into that box, pretending that somehow or other we are still bound by one religion, does not bode well
Could it be that discrimination on religious grounds was why the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution forbade public funding of any particular establishment of religion?
Presumably, the way the religious schools think they can get around it is to accept students of different faiths and then, find reasons to “counsel” them out, flunk them out through arbitrary harsh grading, or make them feel unwelcome.
On another sick topic, Linda, check out the tentacle associated with this freak show:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-quack-doctors-and-powerful-gop-operatives-spread-misinformation-to-millions_n_5f208048c5b66859f1f33148
The greater the number of outrageous nuts linked to Trump, the more his image suffers. Frontline aired a program about Alex Jones on the local PBS station tonight. Clips of Trump mouthing Jones’ words are a focal point of the program. Dr. Immanuel and Kanye West add to the image of Trump as a fool. Btw- in July, the Sandy Hook parents won another round against Jones.
In the Public Interest posted an article this week identifying Charles Koch as the person destroying the post office. I gave copies to a
a couple of post office employees when I mailed letters. The employees were vaguely aware of a threat to the post office but, they hadn’t heard of Charles Koch. Union leaders and stewards have been negligent.
Catholic News Herald, Aug. 16, 2019, “Learn about the Diocese of Charlotte N.C. Catholic schools”. A principal is quoted, “What sets a Catholic education apart…emphasizes prayer and incorporates Catholic faith into everything done as a social community…We begin with prayer and continue prayer throughout the day…We strive to get students on the path to salvation… Our Catholic schools cultivate compassion.”
Question about compassion, firing gay teachers? Opposing abortion? Priests victimizing children, at serial parishes?
TAXPAYERS DON”T WANT TO FUND RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS. Shame on the congregants who enable the destruction of democracy.
Let me counter that a bit, Linda.
You quote a single ‘principal’ in a diocese newsletter. However, I started my teaching career in a Catholic school. I was ‘courted’ by an extraordinary administrator who was in contact with the Graduate School of Education at a large public university. I was enrolled and about to be ‘certified’ at the time, but also working in the Biochemistry Dept. of the university’s medical school. I was (and am) an atheist.
At my first school, the day began with a morning ‘chapel’. I never went to that, of course. The rest of the day was as normal as in any other school (or, perhaps better). This was not a ‘diocesan school’, but rather a private Catholic girls day school. Most of the school was ‘open classroom’ (big open space with classes taught in various corners without walls’. I needed a science lab room, so I had a ‘closed’ space, like the other two science teachers (nuns, but thoroughly dedicated to teaching science, not religion).
I had immense freedom to teach as I wanted (both course content and methodology). I was actually invited to write an ‘earth science’ curriculum for the diocesan schools (two years, 4 different areas of focus). It was a great, supportive environment in which to ‘cut my teeth’. There was absolutely no pressure to ’emphasize prayer’ or the ‘Catholic faith’.
That being said, although the nuns were very interested in weird ideas and such (decision making by consensus drove me nuts at faculty meetings), when push came to shove (money) they had a hard time giving even the smallest consideration to the needs of the lay faculty. They didn’t seem to understand that food and shelter required money for most folks, or that most folks pay taxes. If I wanted money, I would never have become a secondary school teacher, but token raises indicate at least an appreciation. The lay teachers (as a group) were consistently denied raises as money from our school was shuttled to another (failing) school staffed entirely by nuns. So, I ‘moved on’ after 4 years or so. However, I don’t think I ever worked for a better administrator than that headmistress (former nun) or in a more supportive environment.
My point is that not all Catholic schools are so devoted to prayer and such. Some even hire known atheists. Yet, in my day there was almost no public money involved, as was proper (the morning ‘chapel’ was enough to cause a problem). Not all Catholic schools are bastions of religious indoctrination, however the line has to be drawn somewhere, and it’s easiest to draw that line between those schools controlled by a democratically elected BOE and those who are controlled by another entity.
The article implied the principal spoke for all of the principals in the diocese.
The positivity of your experience may be a function of the years when it occurred and that it was a girls school run by women. At the time you were involved with the school, were the state Catholic Conferences in existence and were they as politically active?
Shedding light on the change in today’s situation, there is, first, Udi Greenberg’s article in 2018 about a major change in direction for the Catholic Church, reverting from the pluralism and modernism of the 60’s and 70’s (The Journal of the History of Ideas).
Secondly, a review of Ken Kersch’s book about conservatives and the Constitution in Balkinization, June 9, 2019, provides support for Greenberg’s premise. Neither reading is necessary for those who have followed the success of (1) Princeton’s Robert P. George (Manhattan Declaration, signed by more than a dozen bishops of major U.S. cities including the current head of the USCCB) (2) Leonard Leo’s Federalist Society and, (3) the appointment of William Barr and election of Trump by white, fundamentalist religious.
Thirdly, the recent posting of “research” papers, concocted by Catholic “scholars” to suggest correlations between better character traits and Catholic schools, tells us they view this as a zero sum game.
Fourthly, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest firing gay teachers is recent policy (which will be facilitated by the 2020 decision in Biel v. St. James Catholic school). Is firing women for using birth control next? The bishops gave $2.5 mil. to a new clinic created to replace Planned Parenthood. It promotes the calendar method
(25% failure rate) to the exclusion of pharmaceutical birth control.
Fifthly, Cristo Rey schools are the new design for Catholic education.
I oppose my tax dollars spent on schools that discriminate based on gender, specifically a church that continues its tradition of prohibiting women from top leadership positions. I recall a recent article in a major education publication that had a title, Catholic schools can teach us the value of same sex schools. Presumably, schools in the Middle East can teach a lesson on the subject, as well. I oppose my tax dollars funding a trip by an all boys Catholic school to protest abortion in D.C. when I perceive them to have been indoctrinated and to have had no exposure to arguments that include the risk of the political policy to their mothers, sisters and girlfriends’ lives.
At the risk of offending you, Daedalus, can you explain why so many are so willing to dismiss documented big picture problems because they had an individual positive experience?
The only Democratic senator on the Judiciary committee who is expected to vote to send Trump’s anti-choice judges to the Senate floor for confirmation is Dick Durbin.
You won’t learn from the media that he is Roman Catholic- theocracy overturning Roe v Wade.
Presumably, the “progressive”, Durbin, doesn’t want to offend the political Catholic Conference of Illinois.
The schemes of the religious, so many ways to skirt campaign law.
The anti-abortion Care Net organization plans to hold its national convention despite life-threatening Covid.
The religious’ concern for life is limited to controlling women. The belief that birth control leads to women’s promiscuity has been cited by the top proponents of the anti-abortion
political network.
LGBTQ students are banned from some religion voucher schools in (where else)… Florida.
There was huge public outcry – for a while. Companies contributing to Florida’s voucher program, including Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo, and others pulled their support. However, a week and a half later, many reversed course.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-fifth-third-reversal-vouchers-20200207-uidkihwlkvg35b5xbdwjiww5uq-story.html
Rep. Carlos Smith tried to enter a bill to eliminate discrimination, but Florida’s GOP legislature saw fit to ignore it. https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/02/25/florida-lawmakers-reject-study-on-anti-lgbtq-policies-in-private-voucher-schools/