The Use of Public Funds by Private Schools via Educational Vouchers: Some Constitutional Problems

The 1971 California Legislature considered a bill which would have given an educational voucher to the parents of school children; the voucher would have been utilized to pay for the secular education of the child. The child\u27s education could have been received at a private or parochial school as well as a public school. The question of a violation of the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution is immediately raised when public funds are given to religious schools. This comment discusses the educational voucher system as it would have been established by Assembly Bill 150. In addition to the problem of a possible violation of the first amendment, the author considers the California Constitution\u27s prohibition against giving public monies to any private school. The possibility of the legislation encouraging segregation in the school system is also discussed