David Berliner, a distinguished scholar of American education, is writing a long essay about the dangers of public funding for religious schools. Currently numerous red states are considering proposal to expand vouchers and transfer more public funds to religious schools, typically without accountability. Their actions will overturn the historic tradition of separation of church and state. As the Pastors for Texas Children often say, that separation guarantees religious Liberty.
Berliner writes:
Public dollars for support of religious schools costs citizens billions of dollars annually, and ends up supporting some horrible things. A contemporary example of this is the criteria for entrance to the Fayetteville Christian School (FCS) in North Carolina.
The Fayetteville Christian School is recipient, in a recent school year, of $495,966 of public money. They got this in the form of school vouchers that are used by students and their families to pay for the students religious schooling. The entrance requirements for this school, and other religious schools like it, frighten me, though they are clearly acceptable to North Carolinians. From their website, in 2020:1
“The student and at least one parent with whom the student resides must be in agreement with (our) Statement of Faith and have received Jesus Christ as their Savior. In addition, the parent and student must regularly (go to) a local church. (We) will not admit families that belong to or express faith in religions that deny the absolute Deity/Trinity of Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior and path to salvation. …. FCS will not admit families that engage in behaviors that Scripture defines as deviate and sin (illicit drug use, sexual promiscuity, homosexuality (LGBT), etc.)
Once admitted, if the student or parent/guardian with whom the student resides becomes involved in lifestyles contradictory to Biblical beliefs, we may choose to dis-enroll the student/family from the school.”
[Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.fayettevillechristian.com/copy-of-criteria-1
So, despite the receipt of public money, the Fayetteville Christian School is really notopen to the public at all! This school says, up front and clearly, that it doesn’t want and will not accept Jews, Muslims, Hindu’s, and many others. Further, although supported by public money, it will expel students for their family’s alleged “sins”. Is papa smoking pot? Expelled! Does your sibling have a homosexual relationship? Out! Has mama filed for divorce? You are gone! The admissions and dismissal policies of this school–receiving about a half million dollars of public funds per year–are scandalous. I’d not give them a penny! North Carolina legislators, and the public who elects them should all be embarrassed to ever say they are upholders of American democracy. They are not.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
😱😱😱
By definition religious schools are not “common schools,” as the original concept of public education was to bring diverse students together. How can public tax dollars be used to support them and take money away from the real common schools, public schools while these private schools discriminate? Charter and voucher schools do not fit the definition of common schools when they set their own rules, select and discard students, and some also teach religious dogma, all paid for by public dollars. They also do not offer students the same civil rights protections that state supported schools do.
It’s up a OEN: https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/David-Berliner-on-the-Trav-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Diane-Ravitch_Public-Education-210211-467.html
The use of public funds in North Carolina may be the result of the deeply flawed Supreme Court ruling about voucher programs. See a non-technical discussion here. https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2020/0630/Supreme-Court-rules-public-funds-can-go-toward-religious-schools.
Legal cases on tuition reimbursement for religious schools are pending in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Maine’s case is going to the Supreme Court.
https://madison.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/maine-ban-on-religious-tuition-funding-goes-to-supreme-court/article_3cfd906d-eabf-5800-b449-99b0974b3621.html
Well, it seems clear that the only thing to do now is to begin to tax all religious institutions. If you can take our money, you too can be a taxpayer.
Amen to that!
I was tempted to post here yet another piece on Bob’s Real Good Flor-uh-duh School for Children of Bigoted Trumpanzees, but I’ve grown tired of satirizing these people, who do such a great job of satirizing themselves.
This post appears at a time when the Republican Party is poised to absolve Donald Trump of his treasonous incitement of insurrection against our government. There is no low too low for this party–for the likes of Trump, DeSantis, McCarthy, Gaetz, Greene, Rubio, Scott, Tuberville, etc. We’ve come to expect completely unprincipled behavior from them.
But what we must not accept is Democratic support for charters and vouchers that steal funds from public schools and put them into the hands of bigoted fundamentalist cultists.
There is such a bitter irony in the idea of people this stupid and ignorant running a school.
I shuld note, howevuh, that they’s no truth whutsoever in the skurrilus rumers about school leeder Bob, his commonlaw wife Darlene, and the pool boy. And that stuff in Bob’s glass in them pictures is not whiskey but good Biblical Sweet Tea.
Yes, ah admit that the three of us sometimes engages in mutual backrubs, which is a grate releef after long, hard hours doing the Lord’s work, and agin, thats sweet tee in that glass, made by Darlene Cracker herself, not smooth, delishus Glenfiddich 50 flown in specially by private airplane to Bob n Darlene’s compound in Largo.
SCOTUS appears ready to overturn state prohibitions on providing public $$ for religious schools, usually referred to as Blaine Act prohibitions .. the next huge battleground
The transfer of public tax levies to religious schools has been en route for years as state and local govts. finance various services of religious schools, like school buses to transport religious school students, like funds to pay for special education in religious schools at public expense, etc. Political power of religious groups via bloc voting has long opened tax coffers to such non-public schools. This next shameful step is the jewel in the crown. Both major parties and the teacher unions are complicit in sabotaging the Constitution.