Free at last

Vouchers | "Father of vouchers" Milton Friedman tells WORLD the high court has freed legislatures to make school-choice decisions—by ending the "endless litigation" | Bob Jones

In what could be its most liberating education-related decision since the segregation-condemning Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954, the Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that a Cleveland, Ohio, voucher program does not violate the separation of church and state.

"The Ohio program is entirely neutral with respect to religion," wrote Chief Justice William Rehnquist. "It provides benefits directly to a wide spectrum of individuals.... It permits such individuals to exercise genuine choice among options public and private, secular and religious. The program is ... true private choice."

The 5-4 ruling sent shockwaves through the public-education establishment. National Education Association president Bob Chase in a press release called school-choice proposals "divisive" and insisted: "Just because vouchers may be legal in some circumstances doesn't make them a good idea."

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July 07, 2002, Vol. 17, No. 26

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