Christianity and the School Choice Movement
By 2015 or so, it seemed like the Christian School movement in the US was close to death. For thirty years, many church-based schools strangled their mother institutions. Some church-based schools thrived but only with very careful control of enrollment. Homeschooling overtook Christian Schools as the Christian Education of choice, but that left many students behind. Some Christian parents returned their children to the public school system (or started them there) seeing no alternative or convincing themselves that it was not really that bad.
But the pandemic changed all that. The pandemic pulled back the curtain on public school education and parents were not only enraged, they actively began demanding alternatives.
School closures.
There is no doubt that the pandemic did damage to a generation of young people both educationally and emotionally. We are still seeing the effects of it today.
DEI initiatives in the schools.
The George Floyd riots during the summer of 2020 brought racial stereotyping and division to schools that were damaging to young people and concerning to parents. Some schools in certain locales became unsafe to attend. The resulting initiatives impacted everything from administration to recess.
Woke and gender ideology.
As parents helped their children with learning at home during quarantine, the gender-ideology movement that had been developing in the school curriculum and with school staff became fully visible to parents. The election of 2020 emboldened its advocates—especially among teachers.
School choice.
At the same time, a movement for school choice had been developing. Since the early 2000s tuition tax credits for private (including Christian) education have become law in several states, starting in Arizona. The Supreme Court placed its stamp of approval on such credits in its decision Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v Winn (2011).
However, tax credits were based on donations. That all changed with the Supreme Court in June of 2022 (Carson v Makin). The Supreme Court said that the state of Maine could not deny tax-payer-funded vouchers for private schools simply on the basis that the school was religious. In other words, denying tax-payer tuition money to a Christian school was a violation of the freedom of religion.
In the wake of that decision, state after state has passed and implemented a school choice voucher system for private and Christian Schools. It is the perfect storm. The public school system has gone woke, and dangerous, and at the same time, states are giving parents a financial way out. As of this moment, 15 states now have a voucher system—FL, IN, LA, NH, WI, OK, ID, AZ, DofC, MT, OH, AL UT, KS, NE, KY, GA, SC, IA, AK, TN, CO, ME.
In defense of school choice.
School Choice has opened Christian education (and private education of all kinds) to people who could not previously afford it. Christian Education has always been expensive, especially when you have to pay taxes for other people’s kids too. Parents, churches, faculty, and staff have borne that heavy financial burden. But now, even the poorest of parents have choices to send their kids to schools that meet their criteria—religiously sectarian, academically superior, etc. Parents now can protect their children from political and social ideologies that is harmful to them. Every parent should have such a choice.
Challenges ahead.
Teachers.
The Christian School movement has three major challenges ahead. The first is the one that every school right now understands. There is a huge teacher shortage—especially in math and science. We need a new generation of teachers to rise to the challenge to do this very important work. We need some teachers to consider leaving the more lucrative positions within the public school system to meet the needs of Christian Schools. Most cannot do this for one reason or another, but maybe some can. We need some to consider leaving the commercial work world for the ministry of teaching children. Christian Schools are rapidly trying to address the salary inequities between the public and Christian education environments, but that will not happen all at once.
False assumptions.
The Christian School movement is the answer to everything. We still have sinners educating sinners and the problems of sinful humanity will exist even within a Christian School environment. Sometimes some Christian kids are bullies too. Some Christian kids (and even teachers) use inappropriate language or do inappropriate things. However, a Christian School has a moral compass to deal with such things.
Churches that have schools will have to be very circumspect about how large of a school ministry they can handle without overwhelming the church or creating a situation where the church is dependent on the school. It is not wise to be a school that has a church. Church-related schools will have to be selective about the number of students they take and which students they take. There are already waiting lists at nearly every Church School. They cannot become insular, so wrapped up in education and a school schedule that Great Commission effectiveness is lost.
Having the right perspective on sanctification and truly walking with God is sometimes difficult in a church-school setting. Not getting demerits is not the same thing as being truly spiritual. Good grades, or even completing homework is not a true mark of a vibrant Christian walk.
The danger of regulative creep.
The old timers always said that they did not take government money because it always comes with strings attached. With vouchers, the money is given to the parents, not the schools. But that does not mean that regulative creep will not occur. There are some areas where the government does have a legitimate interest in the quality of the education. Is the campus safe? Are there enough school days? Can students pass standardized tests on basic educational skills? And there are more. However, the government should not have a say in the religious or moral perspective taught in Christian Schools. That biblical perspective permeates every subject taught. We cannot give an inch in this area. This will be the challenge in the days ahead. Christian Schools would be wise to not cut corners and make a commitment to quality teachers, quality facilities, and quality education.
We have a moment of opportunity. We must not squander it.
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