By Timothy Mulhearn
Continued From Home Page
One
feature that characterizes our lives as Americans is a degree of freedom that is
unknown in virtually any other country in the world. Or so, at least, is the theory of America, what makes the United
States such a special place to all who cherish the concept of freedom. But freedom must be more than just a
concept; it must have practical applications in our lives. Those freedoms that are enshrined in the
Constitution and the other founding documents of our nation must be real, and
they must be protected.
One
such freedom that is often overlooked is the ability to educate our children in
the schools we believe are most appropriate.
After all, we know our own kids better than the government does. We do not disagree that the state has an
interest in seeing that all children learn how to read, write and perform
mathematical functions. Indeed, a
well-functioning democracy demands an educated citizenry. But where our children are educated is not
the proper business of the government.
In the early days of our
nation, parents and churches organized schools or children were educated at
home. Well into the 19th century, a movement
began to involve the state in the supervision of education and to start what is
now the public school system. The
initial motivation for this was to deny immigrants, especially Catholics, the
opportunity to maintain their own schools.
In some states proponents of the so-called "common" schools
attempted to make it illegal not to send a child to a government-sponsored
school, and in many states laws were passed to prohibit any tax-supported
benefits to non-government schools and their students.
Today
the situation is only slightly different.
The right of parents to send their children to non-government schools
was not recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court until 1928. Finally, in 2002 the high court decreed that
states may enact laws allowing parents to receive financial assistance to send
their children to religiously-affiliated schools.
In
New York State there is a provision in the state constitution that severely
limits such aid. To help parents secure
what they believe is the most appropriate education for their children,
including attending religiously-affiliated schools, United New Yorkers for
Choice in Education (UNYCE) was founded in 1994. The principal goal of UNYCE is to help parents and taxpayers to
understand that they do not have to settle for the current situation, but that
they can work together to make alternatives to public education affordable.
UNYCE was incorporated by the end of 1994, and recognized by the I.R.S. as a
tax-exempt corporation under §510(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. (Under current I.R.S. rules, this means that
UNYCE is not required to pay income tax, but donations to UNYCE are not
deductible by the donor, because the money is used for legislative advocacy.)
During the current legislative session in Albany, UNYCE is supporting
the Educational Tax Incentives Act (S.1665/A.3590). This bill was introduced on February 10, 2003, and is supported
by a broad array of sponsors -- Republicans and Democrats, from New York City,
the suburbs, and upstate, liberals and conservatives. This proposal would encourage New Yorkers to support education by
allowing them to claim a credit on their state income tax returns for certain
contributions or expenses.
Specifically, the bill proposes a 50% credit for contributions to public
school entities (school districts or individual public schools, including
charter schools) or to private scholarship funds. These contributions are capped at $500 for personal income tax
returns and $50,000 for corporate returns; the maximum credits are $250 and
$25,000, respectively. In addition,
homeschooling parents may claim a credit up to $250 for expenses for the
purchase of instructional materials.
A
similar bill is now the law in Arizona, where approximately 75%-80% of the
donations were made to public schools.
It has been projected that in New York, 75% of the contributions would
go to support public education. With a
50% credit, that means that for every dollar that the state does not receive,
public education could receive $1.50.
At the same time, money would be available for scholarship assistance
for students in nonpublic schools.
Also, parents who homeschool their children would find that option less
burdensome. In other words, the
Educational Tax Incentives Act could benefit children in all academic settings,
and parents would be freer to select the educational setting they believe best
for their own children.
Even
with the broad support the Educational Tax Incentives Act has received in the
legislature so far this year, help is needed to insure its passage and being
signed by the Governor. The support of
taxpayers and voters who believe in educational freedom must be organized in
such a way that our elected officials in Albany hear and understand our call
for reform and vote to pass this much-needed bill.
UNYCE
is currently conducting a fundraising campaign, in order to reach out to New
Yorkers across the state and inform them of the benefits of this proposed
legislation. Contributions or requests
for additional information may be sent to United New Yorkers for Choice in
Education (or UNYCE), P.O. Box 4096, Hempstead, NY 11551-4096. UNYCE may also be reached at (516) 292-1224
or mailto:unyce@earthlink.net.
The
cost of the freedoms Americans are meant to enjoy is small in comparison to the
burden that is borne when that freedom is denied. But the history of our nation is the story of a people who
understand and appreciate freedom, and continue to take the necessary steps and
make the necessary sacrifices in order to achieve and maintain the highest
level of freedom known on earth.