The Declaration of Independence begins: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
This document formed the foundation of the United States of America. Yet, is it liberty for the government to financially coerce parents to send their children to government run schools? Can parents be happy when their children are compelled to attend schools where there is little learning and much strife? Should parents who send their children to private or religious school have to pay twice for education?
Having been involved in Jewish education for almost four decades, I have personally witnessed the material and spiritual devastation caused by this discriminatory treatment. As an administrator at the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ, I had access to reports that listed the salaries of college professors, which were not much more than rabbis at yeshivahs. Yet, our families could not make ends meet. Looking further into this matter, it became clear that the cause of our poverty was the enormous sums we had to pay for education, in addition to having already paid for local public schools.
One day in the late 1990s, I came across a flyer announcing a public event where then Mayor of Jersey City, Bret Schundler, would be speaking on the issue of school choice. Several friends and I attended. We were delighted to hear him talk about the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, and how the principles set down in these documents were inconsistent with the educational funding system now in place. He was determined to lead the way to change. Following his talk, my friends and I approached him and thanked him. “We would like to get involved,” we assured him.
In November 1998, the United States Supreme Court let stand a decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court that had ruled school vouchers constitutional. We decided the time had come for us to act, and we established Parents for Free Choice in Education. We began with a concert in Livingston, NJ, honoring Bret Schundler, and we started publishing articles, brochures, letters to newspapers and holding public events. We met with other like-minded groups and urged Bret Schundler to run for governor.
Although we placed great effort in Schundler’s campaigns for governor in 2000 and 2004, he did not succeed. However, there is still a glimmer of hope. The organization he helped establish, Excellent Education of Everyone (E3), has been successful in having a bill sponsored in the NJ State Legislature called the Urban Schools Scholarship Act. This is a school choice pilot program, which would provide up to 20,000 vouchers worth $6,000 to $9,000 in seven low income municipalities, including Elizabeth and Lakewood, which would be of great help to yeshivah families. Success of this program will surely lead to it spreading to other communities.
While there are a majority of legislators supporting this legislation, the political leadership is preventing it from coming to the floor for a vote. NJ voters can be enormously helpful by calling Senate President Richard Codey at (973) 731-6770, and urging him to support this bill and allow it to come to the floor for a vote.
In New York State, United New Yorkers for Choice in Education has been working on a similar program to raise scholarship funds that would help yeshivah children, based on corporate contributions supported by 50% tax credits. This bill is called the Educational Tax Incentives Act, and needs the support of the public to urge passage. For the telephone number of your assemblyman, please call the Kings County Board of Elections at 718-797-8800.
By far the greatest opportunity for school choice rests with Congress. The US Constitution goes much further in guaranteeing equal rights than state constitutions. For example, most state constitutions include the Blaine Amendment that forbids government funds from being used for religious purposes— even indirectly. The federal government has no such restriction. Furthermore, the US Supreme Court ruled in June 2002 (Zelman v. Simmons-Harris) that school vouchers may be used at religious schools.
We have therefore launched a drive for sponsorship of the Civil Rights Act for Equal Educational Opportunity. This would require all 50 states to provide equitable educational funding for children in both public and non-public schools, while respecting the liberty of schools in hiring and provision of services. We have begun a petition drive to be launched in each of the 435 Congressional districts of the US. Parents, schools, synagogues and community groups are invited to get involved. Your effort can help save the future of our
people.
The current election campaign presents us with an enormous opportunity. Candidates are very eager for our votes. By leveraging our votes in an organized fashion, we can have enormous impact. While each vote alone may not have much influence, a block of votes can be enormously powerful. Gathering several hundred or a thousand signatures or more and presenting them to the candidates and urging them to support this legislation, can be very persuasive.
The opposition to school choice is enormously powerful. None of us can do this alone. We need to work together. By so doing, with help from Above, we will surely prevail.
Further information is available at SchoolChoiceVoter.org.
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Israel Teitelbaum is co-founder of Parents for Free Choice in Education. He can be reached at Israel@SchoolChoiceVoter.org
