In the most anticipated decision of its 2002 term, the Supreme Court ruled, in the case of Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, that the school voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio, did not violate the Constitution's ban on the "establishment" of religion. Opponents of vouchers (i.e., the use of public funds to help low-income families pay tuition at private schools, including religious schools) were predictably disappointed but pledged to fight on. In The Future of School Choice, a group of distinguished authors examine the meaning of the Supreme Court decision and consider the new political and policy context it has created.
The first part of the volume looks at the legal meaning of Zelman, assessing whether its legal impact is broad or narrowand revealing that not every state judge necessarily views this in the same way. The second part explores the broader political realm and policy context in the wake of this Supreme Court decision. The collection as a whole provides an overview of the direction in which the school choice movement is likely to go in the years ahead.
The authors examine how the religious issue is handled in other countries without bitter or divisive controversy. They illuminate the difficulties of voucher politics for elected officials. And they discuss the viability of charter schools and tax credits or deductions as an alternative to vouchers. In addition, one chapter of the book is devoted to examining the implementation of the choice provisions contained in the 2002 education law, No Child Left Behind.
FREE PREVIEW
Paul E. Peterson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a member of the Koret Task force on K-12 Education. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and the director of the Program on Education, Policy and Governance at Harvard University. His current research interests include educational policy, federalism, and urban policy, and he is currently evaluating the effectiveness of school voucher plans around the country.
The Future of School Choice
Our Schools and Our Future
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contributors
vii
Preface
ix
Introduction: After Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, What Next? Paul E. Peterson
1
PART ONE ZELMAN V. SIMMONS-HARRIS: CONSTITUTIONAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS
1.
The Equality Principle Kenneth W. Starr
25
2.
Seminal or Symbolic? Steven K. Green
35
3.
Sunshine Replaces the Cloud Clint Bolick
55
4.
The Need for Secular Choice Louis R. Cohen and C. Boyden Gray
87
5.
Liberalism and School Choice Peter Berkowitz
107
PART TWO ZELMAN V. SIMMONS-HARRIS: POLICY IMPLICATIONS
6.
The Future of School Vouchers Terry M. Moe
135
7.
The Future of Tax Credits Martin R. West
157
8.
The Future of Charter Schools Bryan Hassel
187
9.
Implementing No Child Left Behind Ronald Brownstein
213
10.
Freedom and Accountability: An International Overview Charles L. Glenn and Jan De Groof
227
Index
261
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, founded at Stanford University in 1919 by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the thirty-first president of the United States, is an interdisciplinary research center for advanced study on domestic and international affairs. The views expressed in its publications are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, officers, or Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution.
www.hoover.org
Hoover Institution Press Publication No. 519 Copyright © 2003 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
First printing 2003
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Manufactured in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The future of school choice / Paul E. Peterson, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8179-3952-0 1. School choiceLaw and legislationUnited States. 2. Educational vouchersLaw and legislationUnited States. I. Peterson, Paul E. KF4137.F88 2003 379.131130973dc22 2003056770
BOOKS ONLINE RECENT RELEASES BROWSE BY TITLE BROWSE BY AUTHOR ORDER