On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in "Espinoza v. Montana," that the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause precludes states from excluding religious schools from private school choice programs. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded: "A State need not subsidize private education. But once a…

Richard Komer's paper helpfully and carefully shows that, after the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, a formidable obstacle to choice-based educational reform has been removed, and also that other, no-less-formidable obstacles remain, in the form of anti-aid provisions contained in various states' own constitutions. This…

This issue of the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) includes the following articles: (1) U.S. Supreme Court to Hear School Choice Case December 2; (2) Senate Postpones D.C. Voucher Vote; (3) Princeton Scholar: Reform Research Undermines Reform; (4) Supplemental Services; and (5) CAPENotes.

In April 2003 the Colorado legislature created a school voucher program that has the potential to become one of the largest in the nation. Initially limiting the number of children eligible for vouchers to only 1% of the student population in each of the 11 low-performing school districts targeted by the legislation, or about 3,400 students…

Traditional efforts to reform education have not succeeded because the education system has resisted major change. Achieving meaningful reform will require educational restructuring, and this restructuring will have to be based on competition, which is a basic fact of every other profession. For this reason, many states are moving to adopt…

Analyzes the private school choice debate through a review of the political and judicial history of efforts to provide private schools and their patrons with forms of public aid. It is predicted that a federal tax credit or tuition plan is not likely to succeed in Congress. (SLD)