The issue of public funding of religious education continues to occupy front and center stage in the arena of church-state separation. Although the Supreme Court has continued to decline to review the voucher issue, its ruling in Mitchell v. Helms, which involves the constitutionality of programs that use government funds to provide computers and other instructional equipment to private sectarian schools, could have a major impact on this area of law. The JCPA joined an amicus brief urging the Court to uphold a lower court decision striking down the program. In coming months, major voucher cases in Ohio and Florida will continue to wind their way through the federal and state court systems, providing the Supreme Court with additional opportunities to finally resolve this contentious issue. On the legislative front, the JCPA will continue to strenuously oppose the many initiatives pending in Congress that would utilize government dollars to support private and/or religious education (see also Equal Opportunity and Social Justice section on Public Education).

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DISSENT

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA) continues to favor educational choice programs. We believe that the Jewish community has traditionally been committed to principles including a commitment of social justice that seeks to minimize the role of wealth in securing one’s basic needs, and a desire to stem the tide of assimilation that should lead it to support school choice initiatives. Moreover, we concur with the Supreme Court’s well established reasoning that the Establishment Clause requires not hostility, but neutrality toward religious individuals and institutions. We join in expressing a commitment to a vibrant educational system, and we believe that school choice initiatives will improve the entire educational system for all of America’s children.

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