Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Religion & Law Blogs -> Religion Clause

Religion & Law

: Religion Clause

White House Council Report Supports More Aid For Faith-Based Urban Schools

By Howard M. Friedman

The White House Domestic Policy Council last week issued a 176-page report titled Preserving a Critical National Asset: America's Disadvantaged Students and the Crisis in Faith-based Urban Schools. The Introduction summarizes the report's recommendations:

[B]etween the 1999?2000 and 2005?06 school years, the K?12 faith-based education sector lost nearly 1,200 schools and nearly 425,000 students. This is a cause for national concern.... [I]f we are to succeed in protecting these valuable education options, more must be done. A sustained collaborative effort by educators, elected officials, philanthropists, neighborhood leaders, and many others will be required. America?s faith-based urban schools?so prized by so many families?are well worth this effort. Their preservation will greatly benefit countless disadvantaged students, numerous underserved communities, and as a result, our Nation at large.

In its section on public policy, the report supports vouchers, "backpack funding" that would allow students to take public dollars to the school of their choice, tax credits, faith-based charter schools and additional support services. Much of the report is a transcript of the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Urban Schools held last April. (See prior posting.)

Yesterday, Americans United issued a release taking issue with the report, saying: "Government officials should focus on improving public schools, not subsidizing religious education."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on October 08, 2008 (boomark / email).