Are Vouchers for Parochial Schools an Example of Social Justice for Parents?

Is parental choice in schools a social justice issue? A lecture for parents of students attending private schools using taxpayer dollars is being held at a St. Louis area Catholic high school:

2011 Hesburgh Lecture

When: Saturday April 2, 2011 @ 7:30 PM
Where: Kevin Kline Theatre at Saint Louis Priory

Parental Choice: An Issue of Social Justice

Patricia O’Hara ’74 J.D., Professor of Law

Catholic primary and secondary schools today face daunting challenges in the wake of demographic shifts, the changing role of faith in the lives of American families and the fundamental alternations in the way in which Catholic schools are staffed and financed.
As bishops make painful choices with respect to schools in their dioceses, the stakes could not be higher for sustaining a transformative system of education for the next generation. One piece of the puzzle in creating a new paradigm for Catholic schools in the 21st century is the possibility of public support for private and religious schools that provide a public service to society. Can a case be made, as a matter of social justice, that parents who choose Catholic schools for their children should enjoy some semblance of the public economic support enjoyed by those who choose public schools?

Is public support of parochial school a social justice idea or more a belief parents should be able to decide how their tax dollars are being spent in choosing the appropriate education for their child with minimal governmental control and mandates? Here are some questions for the bishops: if the Catholic schools accept government funding, are they under government mandates in regard to standards, assessments and personal data reporting? Could the government prevent the teachings of the Catholic Church and other religious teaching in the classroom since there would government involvement? Is "social justice" worth handing over the autonomy of a parochial school's delivery of education for government funding?

Whose idea of "social justice" will the Church be following with the acceptance of government funding? The Church's or the government's? Does the Church face the danger of becoming a Church based on secularization vs staying a Church based on faith if it enjoys some semblance of the public economic support enjoyed by those who choose public schools?

Florida Governor Elect Rick Scott--Revolutionary in Disguise?

Now this is something to ponder.

Rick Scott, governor elect of Florida, "has the idea of giving vouchers to all students, essentially ending public education as it is known everywhere else in the country and the world."

Scott is putting forth a choice for taxpayers on how their tax dollars should be spent for their children. It is amazing and radical for a governor to go against the "status quo" of today's educational push...the rush to common core standards and Race to the Top funding.

Read the comments from this Politico piece. Readers have differing opinions on the use of public money for education.

What do you think?