Pennsylvania Bishops Support School Choice as a Matter of Social Justice

As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators.Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise 

P>HARRISBURG, Pa. (Catholic Online) - Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, and the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, is a strong advocate of parental choice in education. He recently told the annual Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference meeting in Harrisburg: 

"The debate over school vouchers and an increase in EITC funding is a pivotal moment for education in Pennsylvania. School choice is about more than education; it's also about opportunity, justice and parental rights. Its goal is always the same-to empower parents to educate their children as they judge best, and to provide poor families with alternatives and real opportunities to succeed."

The Archbishop is absolutely correct. The unwillingness of those currently in charge of the Federal Educational Bureaucracy to consider school choice, when everyone knows our National educational system is broken, exposes the difference between rhetoric and reality, real concern for real reform and sophistry.

School Choice affirms that Parents should make the choice and State and Federal Government should support the first government in the home. The current overly federalized approach to education in the United States is failing. Statistics and experience confirm the obvious. It is time for a change and parental (school) choice is the change that is needed.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms the right of parents to choose a school for their children, "As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators.Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise. "(CCC#2229)

The teaching of the Catholic Church on the primacy of parents in the educational mission is clear. It can provide insights for real educational reform which promotes the common good. The primacy of marriage - and the family founded upon it - as the first cell of society, the first church, first government, first school, first hospital, first economy, and the first mediating institution of the broader society is at the heart of Catholic Social Thought. It should provide the foundation for building a truly just educational  policy in our Nation.

Parental Choice in education is about recognizing the family as the first school and first vital cell of human society. Parents are the first teachers of their children and all education begins in the home. It is the right of parents to choose where their children go to school. That choice should include the full array of options, public, private, parochial, charter and home schools, no matter what the economic status of those parents. It is better for the children, better for society and more economically efficient.

Education outside of the home is an extension of the parental role and should recognize and defer to the parents primary role in the educational mission. These children are not, in the words of the US Supreme Court in the Pierce v Society of Sisters Case "mere creatures of the State". The family is the first government and the first school house. We have forgotten that objective truth as a nation and we are reaping the consequences.

In his Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris Consortio", Blessed John Paul II wrote: "The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others..."

In his "Letter to Families" the late Pope wrote "Parents are the first and most important educators of their own children, and they also possess a fundamental competence in this area; they are educators because they are parents. They share their educational mission with other individuals or institutions, such as the Church and the State. But the mission of education must always be carried out in accordance with a proper application of the Principle of Subsidiarity."

"This implies the legitimacy and indeed the need of giving assistance to the parents, but finds its intrinsic and absolute limit in their prevailing right and actual capabilities. The principle of subsidiarity is thus at the service of parental love, meeting the good of the family unit. For parents by themselves are not capable of satisfying every requirement of the whole process of raising children; especially in matters concerning their schooling and the entire gamut of socialization.

"Subsidiarity thus complements paternal and maternal love and confirms its fundamental nature, inasmuch as all other participants in the process of education are only able to carry out their responsibilities in the name of the parents, with their consent and, to a certain degree, with their authorization."

School Choice is a matter of true social justice. The opposition of some in control of the teachers unions to such a just approach to educational policy and fundamental fairness shows how far some of these mediating associations have strayed from their primary role. They fail to defer to the first mediating institution of the family.  Parental choice in education is right for our children, right for our parents and right for our Nation.

The following statement supporting School Choice was released by the Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania:

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School Choice is the Right Choice for Pennsylvania's Families

The Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania see school choice as a defining social justice issue of our society. Legislation currently being considered in Harrisburg could herald a new, more just era for education in Pennsylvania - an era in which we focus on the ideal educational environment for each student, not on a mandatory system in which students are assigned to a school based solely on geographic location.

The current treatment of these children, particularly children from low-income families, is unjust and inequitable. Families are often prevented from accessing the educational options that would be best for them because of economic or social barriers. School choice legislation that includes vouchers and an increase to EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) reinforces that parents - not the state - are the primary educators of their children.

Parents and educators know that each pupil has a different style of learning and each family has its own educational values. School choice will allow families to pick the school that is best for their children and will allow a wider group of people to access non-public schools. Further, school choice will increase the amount that public schools can spend per pupil, will free up funds to expand the reach of EITC to more middle class families, and will return unused money to the state coffers.  These are just a few of many benefits, but it is clear that school choice will improve the education of countless Pennsylvanians, whether a family chooses public or private school. Is that not a common goal upon which we can all agree?

Catholic schools play a vital role in the Commonwealth: our over 500 schools have educated millions of intelligent, active and community-minded Pennsylvanians.  These schools educate both Catholics and non-Catholics in an academically excellent and nurturing environment. This essential service not only helps to create new generations of productive and engaged citizens, but also saves over $4 billion tax dollars annually.

Catholic and private schools already participate in the marketplace of education.  We must meet the high expectations of parents, for they have the freedom to withdraw their students and choose a different school if they feel it will better meet their needs. Current school choice legislation places all educational institutions into this marketplace and recognizes the moral obligation of educating each and every child to their potential.

The public schools of the state of Pennsylvania and the fine teachers and administrators who labor there are our collaborators in fulfilling this obligation, not our adversaries.  School choice is not a public versus non-public school issue; it is a family and child issue.  Each family should have a full range of educational options within its grasp; this is a civil right for every parent.

The Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania support school choice legislation that includes a voucher program and an increase in the successful EITC program. We have reached a critical moment in the debate over school choice. Now is the time for the Pennsylvania legislature to ensure that ideal educational opportunities are accessible and available to all. There are few priorities more important than educating for the future.

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