A Union of Government and Religion Tends to Destroy Government and Degrade Religion."

Douglas County School District in Colorado has proposed and are moving forward with the "Choice Scholarship Program." Under this program, children/families can apply for a scholarship where, if accepted, they will be given 75% of the allotted budgeted money per pupil to apply towards a private school education.

Here is a list of the schools that have applied to be part of this program:

Accelerated Schools
Ambleside School
Aspen Academy
Ave Maria Catholic School
Beacon Country Day School
Castlewood Christian
CedarWood Christian Academy
Cherry Hills Christian
Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran School
Colorado International School
Denver Christian Schools-Highlands Ranch Campus
Denver Christian Schools-Van Dellen Campus
Denver Christian Schools-High School Campus
Denver Street School-Denver
Denver Street School-Lakewood
Denver Street School-Aurora
Evangelical Christian Academy
Fountain Valley School of Colorado
Front Range Christian School
Hillel Academy of Denver
Humanex
Lutheran High School
Mackintosh Academy
Mullen High School
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
Regis Jesuit High School
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran
Southeast Christian School
St. Peter Catholic School
St. Pius X Catholic School
St. Therese School
The Rock Academy
Trinity Lutheran
Valor Christian High School
Woodlands Academy

As you can tell, many of these schools are sectarian. The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and other groups immediately filed a lawsuit when the motion passed through the Douglas County School District board. It has since been combined with another lawsuit filed by a residents' group called Taxpayers for Public Education. Not only do they claim that it violates the state's public school finance act, but it also unfairly discriminates against children with special needs.

The defendants, including the school district and the state, claim the proposal is religion neutral because the parents and the children decide where to apply the money.

The approach by the Douglas County School District has precedent. In Colorado Christian University v. Weaver, et al. (July 23, 2008), the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit found a state scholarship program unconstitutional. The scholarship program provided scholarships to eligible students who attended any accredited college in the state of Colorado, but Colorado Christian University (CCU) was excluded from said program for being pervasively sectarian. CCU sued claiming violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. While the district court held for the state, the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed the decision for two reasons:

1) The program expressly discriminates among religions without constitutional justification, and 2) its criteria for doing so involves unconstitutional scrutiny of religious belief and practice.

There are tons of entanglement issues here. But the crux of the matter for me is: are these sectarian schools indoctrinating children with their curricula? In which case, state money is being used for the further advancement of religious teaching. In my opinion, that is a violation of the Colorado State Constitution.

Furthermore, while I would love to see the extra $775,000 left over from these kids not attending public school used on my child and others, the state budgets for public education, not private education. No one is telling any of these parents or their children they cannot attend these schools, but the argument that their tax dollars should go towards the education of their child or children is inane. The only way you get to decide where your tax dollars go is at the ballot box. Isn't that unsettling?

Title quote is from Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black