By Nachman Mostofsky & Moshe Hill

The Jewish community is fraught with trials and tribulations, but none seems more universal than the desire to educate our children, and the terrible toll it is taking on the finances of the Jewish family. Jewish parents who send their children to private schools find themselves with the additional burden of paying high tuitions on top of their, at times very high, taxes already being paid. Many states, especially those with large Jewish populations, have little to no interest in lightening the load.  The fight for school choice is not only a Jewish issue, but one that unites voters across the religious and political spectrum, yet it elusively remains a partisan issue. For those who seek to lower the financial burden of properly educating their child, school choice is the number one issue on the ballot. This is true from the top of the ballot down to state house races.

School choice is a phrase thrown around a lot, but what does it actually mean?  In broadest terms, it means that tax dollars that are allocated for K-12 education follow the student, and not directly deposited into the public school system.  This means that when a state allocates approximately $6,000 in education funds per pupil, it would then go towards public, private, or charter school, depending on the wishes of the parents. It could even go towards homeschooling ones children if a parent so chooses.  These funds can be provided through vouchers, tax-credits, or tax-free savings accounts.  If, for example, a private school costs each child $12,000 per year, half would be paid by the state and half by the parents.

Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of these types of educational systems. According to the American Federation for Children 2020 Poll, 69% of respondents favor the concept of school choice.  The data also shows that the numbers among minorities of color are extremely high, with 68% of African Americans and 82% of Latinos in favor of school choice.

A much larger disparity starts to be seen when you break down the support via party affiliation.  82% of Republicans favor school choice, while only 48% of Democrats do.  The Democratic Party believes that all education spending should go to the public school system. Not only that, but they argue that the public school system is in need of even more funding.  Charter schools, which are publicly funded, are unacceptable to many on the political left. What some may find interesting is that by looking at the numbers of American blacks and Latinos, it must be 100% of white Democrats who don’t want school choice.

Republicans, on the other hand, believe that money should follow the student, with parents deciding which school their children should attend.  There is also the belief among Republicans that school choice is the single best way to raise education in inner cities plagued by decades of Democratic mismanagement of education.  From the numbers, it seems black and Latino Americans agree.

Elected Democratic officials have long told of the “dangers” of school choice; often labeling school choice advocates as killers of the public-school system.  Elizabeth Warren’s policy position proclaimed that, “To keep our traditional public-school systems strong, we must resist efforts to divert public funds out of traditional public schools.”  Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris showed support for striking Los Angeles Unified School District teachers in 2019 by stating that she was “particularly concerned with expansions of for-profit charter schools”.  In a joint policy proposal from Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the Biden administration would oppose “private school vouchers and other policies that divert taxpayer–funded resources away from the public school system.”

Why are the Democrats so beholden to the public school system, a system that some estimate as 38th in the world? Especially when they get such a large percent of their voting base from black, Latino, and Jewish voters?

Well, one must look no further at political donations for an answer.  In 2019-2020, the two largest teachers’ unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teacher, gave $26 million dollars to Democrats.  When Democrats complain about “BIG ____” money corrupting our politics, they never mention the money they get from “Big Union”, and in this case, specifically the teacher’s unions.

Broken down, in this 2020 cycle the average Democrat running for the House of Representatives received $10,200 from teachers’ unions, while the average Republican received just $162.  In the Senate, the average Democrat received $4,500, while the average Republican received $0.  Teachers unions clearly want taxpayer money to go to the public schools.

The money they spent was well worth it, as many states have no options for school choice, including in states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California.  These states keep public money out of religious schools by use of the Blaine Amendment, which was a failed Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but was then adopted by many states.  The amendment forbids any public money to go to schools with a religious affiliation.  When proposed in the 1870s, it was an anti-Catholic amendment, and now it is having strong ramifications against the broader faith based Jewish community. It is one of the last vestiges of law still on the books in many states which is systemically bigoted. Courts have since rules that certain monies may, in fact, go to schools in states with Blaine Amendments, such as for busing, school books, meals, etc.

The Republican position stands in stark contrast to the Democrats.  In July, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the “School Choice Now” Act in the Senate, which currently has 7 co-sponsors – all Republican.  During the Republican National Convention, Senator Scott said “I realized a quality education is the closest thing we have to magic in America.  That is why I fight to this day for school choice… to make sure every child, in every neighborhood has a quality education.  I do not care if it’s a public, private, charter, virtual, or home school.  When a parent has a choice, their kid has a better chance. And the President has fought alongside me on that.”  Ted Cruz is another who has uttered support, saying that “school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” And we agree with him!

What has President Trump done to expand school choice?  At the start of his presidency, he nominated Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education.  Secretary DeVos has been a school choice advocate for decades, and hers was one of the most contentious confirmation hearings because of it.  Her family has been involved in this issue for many years, and monetarily support these initiatives in their home state of Michigan.  In February of 2019, Secretary DeVos introduced plans to expand federal school vouchers, including to schools with religious affiliation.

Trump also nominated, and Senate Republicans confirmed, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who joined the majority when the Supreme Court decided on Espinoza vs. Montana Department of Revenue.  This case, in a major hit to the Blaine Amendment, essentially claimed that states that have any funding to private schools cannot, under the Free Exercise clause, exclude funding from a private religious school because of their religion.  The four liberal justices all voted against this.  Gorsuch even wrote a concurrence claiming that the Free Exercise clause “also protects the right to act on those [religious] beliefs outwardly and publicly.”  This will affect the Blaine Amendment in at least 17 of the 38 states that have it, and will mitigate its expansion going forward. It also gives us a sense of where the court will go in the future, especially after Judge Amy Coney Barrett joins the Supreme Court as its newest justice.

While these developments are promising, many of the Trump administration’s efforts have hit roadblocks in Congress.  The president seems determined to continue the fight for school choice, as his 2nd-term agenda specifically calls to “Provide School Choice to Every Child in America.”  The Biden education plan puts far more emphasis on helping teachers than helping students, and makes no mention of charter schools, private schools, or school choice.

Parents, especially parents of black and Latino children, who want better educational outcomes for their children are begging to be freed from the shackles of the public school system.  Jewish parents, who struggle to provide a quality Jewish education to their children under the crippling cost of private school, are desperate for any help they can receive.  In a binary choice this November, the sides are clear.  Democrats stand with the failing public school system, because they have a monetary incentive to keep the teachers unions happy.  Republicans stand with the parents and students, who deserve the best education available, regardless of source.  This will also lead for better outcomes for teacher’s themselves, as they will have more engaged, and better educated, students.

Nachman Mostofsky is the Executive Director of Chovevei Zion & Chovevei Zion Policy Fund. He can be found at twitter.com/mostofsky, while the organizations are at twitter.com/choveveizion and twitter.com/czpolicy.

Moshe Hill is a political analyst and Chovevei Zion Fellow.  He can be found at aHillwithaView.com, facebook.com/aHillwithaView, and twitter.com/TheMoHill.