Jewish Parents Sue Alabama School System

[Stephen M. Feldman]

Pamela Harris notes:

Jim Henderson says of the Alabama plaintiffs:
I'll bet if these kids and their parents were given a voucher or tax credit
. . . they would consider a private or home alternative so that they would
be insulated from those kinds of folks.

I agree with Professor Harris's important point that the Jewish parents in
this situation might not wish to sacrifice the benefits of a public school
education (nor should they be pressured to make this choice).  In addition,
it is worth noting that in many communities, the private or
non-governmental schools might not offer any better opportunities for
Jewish families.  As I discuss in the opening pages of my book on the
separation of church and state, my daughter started in the Tulsa public
schools.  When my wife and I questioned the appropriateness of the annual
Christmas activities in my daughter's school, we faced (unsurprising)
hostility.  We soon were investigating the private schools for our daughter
(though not because of the Christmas episode).  Although Tulsa is a city of
more than 400,000, the overwhelming majority of non-governmental schools
are affiliated with some Christian group.  The choices are even narrower
for middle and high schools.  My point is that the private or
non-governmental marketplace does not necessarily provide equality of
choice for all individuals and groups.  This problem would be exacerbated
in a smaller city or town, whether in Oklahoma, Alabama, or elsewhere.  And
for many families, homeschooling (mentioned by Jim Henderson as another
option) is neither a desirable nor a practical alternative.

Stephen M. Feldman
Professor of Law and Political Science
University of Tulsa

At 11:09 AM 8/18/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Jim Henderson says of the Alabama plaintiffs:
>
>I'll bet if these kids and their parents were given a voucher or
>tax credit . . . they would consider a private or home
>alternative so that they would be insulated from those kinds of
>folks.
>
>I wouldn't make the same bet, at least not without a lot more
>information.  Parents of Jewish children -- and children of other
>minority religions -- may be deeply committed to educating their
>children in public schools, even at the cost of some divergence
>between their own religious values and the values taught their
>children in those school.  (Gilles' Rawlsian analysis, as
>described in Rick Duncan's 8/13 post, notwithstanding.)
>
>This is in part because public schools offer the prospect of
>assimilation -- which, stripped of the negative connotation that
>sometimes (and sometimes deservedly) attaches to the concept,
>means that their children will learn that their religious
>"difference" does not precude their membership in the larger
>community.  What their children can get from public education, to
>borrow Kenneth Karst's phrase, is a sense of belonging that may
>otherwise be elusive.
>
>Parents may value this sense of belonging in its own right:  it
>helps to ameliorate the insecurity that comes with religious
>difference when that difference is or has been constructed
>negatively or used to subordinate; and it equalizes the status of
>their children, giving them the same sense of belonging that
>other children can take for granted.  Parents also may believe
>that the long-term vitality of their religious tradition depends
>on this kind of assimilation:  membership in a minority faith
>community will be more attractive to many if it can be coupled
>with a sense of belonging to the larger community.
>
>None of this is to suggest that all parents of Jewish children
>will take this approach; indeed, the Jewish community appears to
>be increasingly at odds over the value of assimilation through
>public education as well as through other means.  Nor is it to
>suggest that the Alabama plaintiffs -- whatever their initial
>preferences -- would or should continue to opt for public
>education, given their children's experience.  But I do think
>it's important to recognize that many Jewish parents have viewed
>public education as absolutely critical to protecting their
>children's religious freedom.
>
>Pamela Harris
>U.Penn. Law School
>
>
>>
>> Art Spitzer has performed a good service by posting news of the
>terrible situation in Alabama where Jewish students are being
>mistreated and abused by "christians" in the local public school.
>>
>> For my part, since he laid a particular gauntlet down before
>me, I find the conduct described to be unchristian and
>reprehensible.  Conversions are matters of the heart and mind,
>not the stick and stone.
>>
>> But it is worth noting that all this is taking place in an
>american PUBLIC school.  I'll bet if these kids and their parents
>were given a voucher or tax credit reflecting the cost per pupil
>in the local public school, they would consider a private or home
>alternative so that they would be insulated from those kind of
>folks
>>
>> Jim Henderson
>> Senior Counsel
>> ACLJ
>>
>