School Choice Debate

School choice advocates predict that private school tuition vouchers will become more widely used in coming years as lawmakers, educators and parents realize that only radical reform can fix the nation's failing public schools. And school choice, the advocates argue, must be the cornerstone ofthe reforms because it empowers parents to choose the best school for their children. In addition, they say, vouchers will inject a healthy dose of competition and thereby improve a public education system that is monopolistic and resistant to change. But opponents say that vouchers will siphon money away from schools that are already woefully underfunded. Moreover, they argue that using taxpayer dollars to send children to sectarian schools violates the constitutional prohibition on government supportfor religion.