Liberty Counsel Files Amicus Brief With U.S. Supreme Court On CaseThat Will Impact Educational Vouchers 

September 9, 2003

Mathew D. Staver

Washington, D.C. – Today Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in the case known as Locke v. Davey. Joshua Davey is represented by the American Center for Law and Justice. 

Not long ago, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in a voucher case known as Zelman v. Simmons-Harris. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that states are permitted by the U.S. Constitution to give a voucher to a parent who, in turn, uses the public funds to pursue a private religious education. The unanswered question is whether a state must provide such a voucher whenever it offers vouchers to pursue private secular education. That is the question before the court in the Davey case. 

Joshua Davey received a Promise Scholarship based upon financial need and academic achievement. In a press release by Governor Gary Locke, he stated, “I believe that every student who shows promise should have the right to pursue the American Dream of a college education.” While the state of Washington allows students to use the voucher to pursue a study about religion, it prohibits pursuing a course of study that teaches religion from a religious viewpoint, or pursuing a course of study that teaches religion as truth. When Mr. Davey declared a double major in Pastoral Ministries and Business Management/Administration, the scholarship was revoked. The state took the position that its own constitution provided a broader “separation of church and state” than the federal Constitution, and thus the state constitution prohibited any public funds that might find their way into religious institutions that taught religion as truth. The question before the court is whether the free exercise of religion under the federal Constitution trumps a state constitution that prohibits states from funding religious institutions. 

The case is extremely important, not only for vouchers, but for Medicaid funds, just to name one. Medicaid benefits come from the government and allow the recipient to receive medical treatment at private secular or religious hospitals. A negative ruling on this case could ultimately affect Medicaid funds. Liberty Counsel’s brief argues that the First Amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion requires that states provide equal treatment to pursue religious education if the states provide vouchers for private secular education. 

Staver commented, “There must be some balance to the broad public education monopoly. Vouchers allow parents to have a broad array of choices to direct the education of their children. Competition is vital to business and to education.”

New England Primer

The New England Primer was the first textbook ever printed in America and was used to teach reading and Bible lessons in our schools until the twentieth century. The New England Primer is a great example of early American education. Introduced in the Boston public schools in 1690, for the next two centuries the New England Primer was a required textbook from which every first grader learned grammar and spelling. 

The 1900 reprint described the impact of the book, stating: “The New England Primer was one of the greatest books ever published. ...[I]t reflected in a marvelous way the spirit of the age that produced it, and contributed, perhaps more than any other book except the Bible, to the molding of those sturdy generations that gave to America its liberty and its institutions.”

Teachers used the New England Primer to teach first graders the alphabet in several ways. For the letter “A”, the young students learned, “In Adam’s Fall, We sinned all.” For the letter “C”, the students recited: “Christ crucified, For sinners died.” Students were also asked questions such as, “Who was the first man?”, “Who was the first woman?”, and “Who is Jesus Christ?” The New England Primer was written at a more advanced level than books typically used to teach first graders today. This is an excellent text for use in Sunday school classes, home schools, Christian schools and for general interest reading.

This is a hardcover, 86-page reprint of the original 1777 version used by many of the Founding Fathers to teach their own children. Order your copy of The New England Primer, available for a suggested donation of $7.00 or more. Call 1-800-671-1776 or order online and save shipping costs.

Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
http://www.lc.org.

An Ally of the Alliance Defense Fund