Is school choice a civil right? Joseph L. Bast, president of the Heartland Institute (Voice, Aug. 28, says yes, and so do I. Are school vouchers a civil right? Bast says yes, but I say no.
Bast says, “The campaign for school choice is the most important civil rights movement in the nation today.” In the last 50 years civil rights organizations have opened up the nation’s schools to all children, regardless of their race, religion or ethnic origin. Today we have school choice. Today’s “campaign for school choice” is only a campaign for school vouchers. This means using taxpayers’ money to pay for tuition at private schools, which are predominantly religious schools. It is not about choice, it is about government subsidies to religious institutions.
