In considering the constitutionality of Milwaukee's program, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that:

1. students cannot be forced to attend any 'religious activity' (are crosses on walls a religious activity?);
2. kids already in private schools cannot receive vouchers unless they are between kindergarten and third grade;
3. private schools must select students on a 'random basis'.

Vouchers create another government bureaucracy, which must be funded. So even if vouchers are secured in a given year, the battle must be re-fought in the following year's budget. And not only must vouchers win, they must win in ever-increasing funding amounts or inflation will make the voucher meaningless in the future. Those opposed to vouchers and those seeking to gain control of non-public education are thus presented with an annual opportunity to advance their agendas. (For example, one version of Pennsylvania's voucher bill included language that gave the state the ability to control the tuition of EVERY SCHOOL that accepted vouchers.)

The universal tuition tax credit approach that Peg Luksik advocates has already been successfully implemented in Arizona and Minnesota, and is being actively promoted in Michigan. It has passed the constitutionality test. Tax credits have significant advantages over vouchers:

• They require no state funds. Once tax credits pass the legislature, they are permanently in place - parents do not have to re-fight the budget battle every year.
• They are linked to local taxes, making them more realistically matched to the tuition needs of each family.
• They place control totally in the hands of the parents. No parent has to ask permission to move their child to a different school, and no parent can be denied the opportunity to freely select the school for their own children.
• They place a line of separation between the state and the school, reducing the possibility of additional government controls on the 'non-publics'.
• The universal nature of the tax credit allows others (relatives, businesses, alumni) to take advantage of the program to help fund the education of additional children, thus providing low income children with real opportunities to escape the government system.

It's time to jettison a non-solution to a real problem and move forward to secure the best education for all our children!