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The Supreme Court has implicitly recognized that in a democratic, pluralistic society, a government monopoly on public education sometimes leads to horrific educational consequences and resentment among students and parents—and that it doesn't have to be this way. Parents can have genuine choices.

Will a school system based on free parental choice turn American society toward scholastic feudalism, each interest group having its own school, insistently separate from the rest of society?

Apparently it doesn't work that way. As sociologist Christian Smith writes, "Recent survey data from the U.S. Department of Education show that Catholic, Protestant, and nonreligious private schooling and homeschooling families are consistently more involved in a wide spectrum of civic activities than are families of public school children. From voting to volunteering to visiting the local library, private and homeschooling families are very much out in their communities and involved in the affairs of public life. Private schooling, it turns out, is anything but privatizing."

A new era is dawning in education. School voucher programs already exist in Wisconsin, Florida, Vermont, and Maine. In the past year alone, legislatures in 12 states considered parental choice proposals. More states will no doubt give such proposals a fresh look.

We don't foresee masses of Christians withdrawing from the school systems. In fact, we hope this doesn't happen. Many schools would be the poorer for Christians' withdrawal. But for Christians who sense God's call to move their children to a private school, there will finally be a genuine option in a handful of states. If reason and genuine diversity prevail, that option will spread to all states.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The Freedom Forum offers good background on the Ohio case with a timeline. Read the Supreme Court ruling or watch it at Cleveland's WKYC.

Reaction statements online include ones from Family Research Council, American Center for Law and Justice, and the National Education Association.

For media coverage, see Yahoo full coverage.

More Christianity Today articles on school reforms are available in our education area. Previous articles on school vouchers include:

Supreme Court Okays School VouchersCleveland's voucher plan is constitutional, Supreme Court says in 5-4 decision. (June 27, 2002)

Conservatives Vow to Revive VouchersProposal left out of education reform bills. (July 19, 2001)

Reading, Writing, and ReformVouchers dropped, but testing, tax credits remain in Bush education plan. (June 10, 2001)

Vouching for ParentsVouchers are not an attack on public schools but a vote of trust in families. (April 2, 2001)

Weblog: Appeals Court Says Vouchers Violate Church-State Separation (Dec. 13, 2000)

Religious Right Loses PowerA few victories, but more losses for conservatives. (Dec. 18, 2000)

School Choice Measures in Tight RacesRecent surveys show much opposition to voucher initiatives in California and Michigan. (Sept. 27, 2000)

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August 5 2002, Vol. 46, No. 9