Historically, private education has been an option mostly for families who could afford the cost or received financial help. Years of research have shown that many families would choose private schools and other educational resources for their children if they did not face insurmountable financial or geographical limitations. Private educational…

This report argues that the Michigan state constitution's "Blaine Amendment," a provision which prevents parents from drawing on state funding to go outside the public school system, is superseded by the United States Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in the case Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The report discusses a legislative…

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in "Carson v. Makin" that Maine violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by excluding religious schools from a private-school-choice program--colloquially known as "town tuitioning"--for students in school districts without public high schools. Writing for the majority,…

The full reach of the U.S. Supreme court's 2020 ruling in "Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue" has yet to be seen, but it has the potential to reshape the school-choice landscape. The ruling, which prohibited Montana from excluding students at religious schools from a tax-credit scholarship program, will figure prominently in many…

Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos wants to privatize American education using charter schools, vouchers, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts, and portable federal funds. Court and legislative decisions are facilitating these ends. Understanding the school choice agenda and its fiscal, academic, and legal aspects can help…

School vouchers are defined as certificates of government funding that are allocated to students and intended to defer the cost of tuition at a private school of the student or the student's parents' choice. With strong views on opposing sides, the issue of school choice and the corresponding use of vouchers has certainly been catapulted into the…

In the absence of incontrovertible performance data in support of, or opposition to, school vouchers, court decisions on their legality become increasingly important. Analysis of legal challenges provides a rich opportunity for scholars and policymakers to follow arguments for or against their positions. We present a chronicle of the litigation…

This article illustrates the historic relationship between the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision and the school choice movement. It will discuss the immediate push back to Brown particularly from Southern states that were resistant to desegregating public schools; a move that would provide African-American parents with educational…

In light of contemporary school choice proposals and the 60th anniversary of the Southern Manifesto, the Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools crisis provides interesting historical discussion. Prince Edward County (PEC), a rural community in central Virginia, was one of five school districts represented in the 1954 "Brown v. Board of…

In 1956, southern Congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto, rejecting the Supreme Court's "Brown v. Board of Education" ruling. This moment, in the general American consciousness, marked the rise of White massive resistance to Black advancement, a racist foray doomed to be swept aside by civil rights forces and a determined federal…

Though school choice has proven to be popular, barriers remain in some states as a result of so-called Blaine Amendments and similar policies to prevent education funding from following students to religious schools as a part of school choice options. If left to stand, these ignoble 19th century amendments will remain major impediments to the…

The United States Congress' Southern Congressional Delegation promulgated the Declaration of Constitutional Principles, popularly known as the Southern Manifesto, on March 12, 1956. The Southern Manifesto was the South's primary means to effectively delay implementation of public school desegregation as ordered by the United States Supreme Court…

After "Zelman v. Simmons-Harris" (2002), civil conflict over use of vouchers and taxes to purchase private education, especially in religious schools, largely remained an issue for state courts' jurisprudence. However, in 2010, it returned to the U.S. Supreme Court when Arizona taxpayers challenged the constitutionality of the state's…

In 2013, Alabama adopted the Alabama Accountability Act, an education reform measure that includes two new school choice programs that extend a lifeline to Alabama students trapped in failing public schools. One program offers a tax credit to help offset the cost of tuition for families who move their children from public schools designated as…

The National Coalition on School Diversity has updated this review of federal support for school integration during the tenures of Secretaries Arne Duncan and John King, who both served during the Obama Administration. While much remains to be done, the Obama Administration has made concrete progress on school integration policy. This overview…