NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      FRESNO, California (CWNews.com) - An education group dedicated to ending government involvement in schools warned on Wednesday that school voucher plans, similar to the one in place in Wisconsin and upheld this week by the US Supreme Court, could end up secularizing religious schools.

      Marshall Fritz, director of the Separation of School and State Alliance, said that the voucher plan has an "opt-out" policy that allows parents to instruct the schools not to include their children in any religious practices. "This requirement won't bother schools that just tip their hat to God with and occasional chapel service or prayer before the football game," Fritz said. "But many Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant schools permeate the day with expressions of love and obedience to God."

      The alliance is holding its annual conference this week in Colorado Springs, Colorado. One speaker agreed with Fritz, and added that the "opt-out" feature could cause a backlash against voucher plans. "The Milwaukee plan is so bad for religious schools that it's going to cause a huge amount of discussion across the country on the danger of tax-financing for private education," said Lew Rockwell, president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.