The question of financial aid or assistance to parents of students attending nonpublic schools, including parochial or other religious-based schools as well as private non-sectarian schools, is inextricably linked to the issue of freedom of choice. Should parents be allowed the freedom to choose which school (public or private) their children attend irrespective of district boundaries, transportation concerns, or the possibility of renewed racial or ethic segregation? According to Kirkpatrick (1990),
there would be no discussion of tuition vouchers, tuition tax credits, alternative education, private schools, or other changes in or from the present public school system if that system were not so consistently, so seriously, so widely, and so compellingly found wanting (p. 9).
The principal debates have centered on the issuance of vouchers which could be used at either public or private schools for tuition and expenses, or the creation of tax credits or deductions (either income or property) for those who send their children to nonpublic schools. The political rhetoric--and sporadic legislation to accompany it--has been on a see-saw ride for well over a quarter century, but in the aftermath of the November, 1994 Congressional elections, the issue of government financial aid for nonpublic schools may be closer to a resolution than it has ever been since the founding of the United States.
The subject of school choice is generally traced back to a 1962 book written by economist Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (Wornsop, 1991, p. 259). Within the framework of the book, Friedman proposed a system which would provide "for government-funded vouchers that would permit parents to send their children to a school--public or private--of their choice" (Wornsop, 1991, p. 259). The vouchers would be redeemed for cash by the school, and it was Friedman's suggestion that the face value of the voucher be "equivalent to the...