A victory for ‘choice’

RICHARD A. SOKERKA

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that overturned a Maine law denying religious schools access to state tuition assistance available to students attending secular private institutions was a victory for students, parents, school choice advocates and, most importantly, religious liberty.

In its ruling, the Justices said the Maine law “penalized the free exercise” of religion by excluding “otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise.” Simply put, discriminating against all religious education was discriminating against religion.

On the heels of the Supreme Court decision, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed into law the most expansive school choice legislation in the nation. At the signing ceremony, the governor said, “This is a monumental moment for all of Arizona’s students. Our kids will no longer be locked in under-performing schools. Today, we’re unlocking a whole new world of opportunity for them and their parents. With this legislation, Arizona cements itself as the top state for school choice and as the first state in the nation to offer all families the option to choose the school setting that works best for them. Every family in Arizona should have access to a high-quality education with dedicated teachers.

About the legislation, the National Review wrote, “Arizona’s new law will allow every one of the state’s 1.1 million students to take advantage of an education scholarship to attend a school of their choice — public, private, religious, or charter. School-choice advocates call the legislation the ‘new gold standard’ for student freedom, one that will be a model for states across the country to emulate.”

Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, tweeted, “Parents, not unions, should be in charge of their kids’ education. Kudos to @DougDucey for empowering families and securing a win for education freedom. More governors should follow his lead!”

Unfortunately, one governor who will not follow Gov. Ducey’s lead is Gov. Phil Murphy (D) of New Jersey, where school choice is desperately needed with so many failing public schools, most especially in the inner cities. However, given the Biden Administration’s strident opposition to school choice and the fact that teachers’ unions on the state and national level fill the campaign coffers of Demo­crat candidates to stand against school choice, they will ignore the pleas of parents to be able to choose the best school for their children in which to excel.

It is a sad fact that many students are ill-served in certain public school systems across America. Parents need to be heard by our elected leaders on this issue. School choice is the answer to a better education for every student in this nation.