A recent Associated Press article published in The Times Leader discusses Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett's proposed education reforms including school vouchers which Corbett calls “opportunity scholarships” that would “send children not only to private or religious schools, but also to better-performing public schools.” The article mentions that some church-state separation advocates oppose Corbett's voucher ideas, but does not go into details about such arguments or concerns.
Commenting on the legality of voucher programs similar to Corbett's ideas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a group “dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans,” lists information that someone should be concerned with if he/she suspects that a voucher program is illegal including “What proportion of schools participating in the voucher program are religious schools, and what proportion of participating students use the vouchers to attend religious schools,” “At what kinds of schools, and towards what kinds of expenses, may the vouchers be used,” and “Do religious schools or students at religious schools receive preferential treatment in the awarding of vouchers? If so, how?”
If there is a stark disproportion between private religious and private secular schools in a certain area or state, voucher programs may be problematic because taxpayer dollars appear to be funding religion over non-religion. If students of religious private schools are receiving preferential treatment, more money is going to religious education as opposed to secular education and one religion, some religions are favored over other religions and religion is being favored over non-religion.
Discussing a Washington D.C. taxpayer-funded voucher program, the Secular Coalition for America, a group that aims “to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all,” notes, under their issues tab in the category 'stop federal funding of religious schools,' “When private religious schools are privately funded, religious schools have an undisputed right to include religious content in their curriculum. But once taxpayer dollars enter the equation, it is impossible for the government to avoid favoring one religious program over another or over non-religious programming.”
The Secular Coalition for America's page continues, “One of the most dearly held principles of religious liberty is that government should not compel any citizen to furnish funds in support of a religion with which he or she disagrees, or even a religion with which he or she does agree.”
Some school voucher programs may legal under the United States Constitution if they meet certain criteria, but they may not pass constitutional muster at a state level. Voucher programs -- because of varying geography, population, population density, accessibility of schools and other characteristics that can be drastically different throughout regions of the United States – can be quite difficult issues to consider in terms of legality; some voucher programs, although the provisions may be similar, can be legal in one area while they illegal in others.
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