In 2005 the University of Notre Dame’s President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, assembled the Task Force on Catholic Education to discuss and study the issues affecting our nation’s Catholic schools. Chaired by Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., founder of the Alliance for Catholic Education and director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives, the Task Force was comprised of 50 leaders from throughout the country, including Catholic educators, diocesan representatives, philanthropists, investment specialists and Notre Dame faculty and staff.
The following December, the Task Force released its final report entitled Making God Known, Loved and Served: The Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in the United States. In the final recommendation of the twelve point document, the University of Notre Dame states:
The Task Force recommends that, consistent with its character as a Catholic institution of higher learning and research, Notre Dame commit to the careful investigation of these and other education-reform policies. The University will also support efforts to educate citizens and leaders about the issues of social justice surrounding access to educational opportunity and the rights of parents who choose Catholic schools for their children to the support enjoyed by those who choose public schools. Failure to provide public economic support to private and religious schools that need public assistance and that render a public service to society is an injustice. (Read recommendation twelve)
The final report goes on to make five recommendations to the Catholic Church in the United States. Recommendation four calls for the Bishops in the United States to support school choice initiatives:
We believe it is crucial that the Bishops in the United States teach clearly and with one voice that parents have a right to send their children to Catholic schools, that these schools contribute to a healthy civil society and provide special benefits to the poor and disadvantaged, and that it is unjust not to include students who choose to attend Catholic schools in the allocation of public benefits. School choice is not just a policy option or a political question; it is an issue of religious freedom and social justice.(Read the full final report)
In March of 2010 after the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship failed to pass in the US Congress, President Emeritus and civil rights leader, Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC wrote an op-ed column for the Wall Street Journal condemning the killing of the program and calling for justice in the American education system.
I know that some consider voucher programs such as the Opportunity Scholarships a right-wing affair. I do not accept that label. This program was passed with the bipartisan support of a Republican president and Democratic mayor. The children it serves are neither Republican nor Democrat, liberal or conservative. They are the future of our nation, and they deserve better from our nation’s leaders. (see the whole article at WSJ online or excerpts from the blog "The Soul of a Nation."
Later that year, ACE announced the creation of the Program for K-12 Educational Access. As the Program's website states:
The Program is designed as a teaching, research, and outreach enterprise dedicated to helping develop instruments of policy and philanthropy that can ensure that as many low-income families as possible have the financial means to receive a Catholic education.
The core function of the Program is to promote systemic and sustainable expansion of the educational opportunities available to at-risk children. In collaboration with the broader work of ACE to revitalize K-12 Catholic education, it facilitates dialogue on issues of parental choice, forms policy leaders dedicated to strengthening urban faith-based schools, and supports local efforts to assist low-income families in accessing the schools of their choosing.
ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools believes parental choice initiatives will give more students access to quality Catholic schools and are an important piece of true educational reform.
Interested in helping make parental choice a reality? Join the movement now or consider applying for the 2011 Advocates for Parental Choice Symposium.