I doubt many people in North Carolina realize that the state already tried a voucher system, under the so-called Pearsall Plan passed in 1956. It would have allowed students assigned against their will to desegregated schools to receive “educational expense grants”, i.e. vouchers, to attend a non-public school. It was ruled unconstitutional after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and from what I’ve read never issued the first voucher. This of course is grist for the mill for those who argue that “school choice” is simply a code word for re-segregation; in this case, unfortunately, it probably was.
However, the rest of the history is most instructive. Prior to Pearsall, private education was largely unregulated by the state. When the prospect of diverting tax dollars to private schools arose, the state asserted its right to intervene in non-public education. The result was a restrictive law that eventually led to state lawsuits against church schools which objected to government intrusion into their religious ministries, large and peaceful demonstrations in the streets of Raleigh, and a few years later, a state Supreme Court case over the issue of the smallest of schools, those at home.
And through it all, nobody received the first benefit from the voucher program, questionable or otherwise.
There is a certain level of independence for non-public education in our state but it has to be continually guarded. To me, the end of the matter is, if true freedom to choose is an issue, ’tis best to stay clear of government “assistance” altogether.
