A judge flunks¹ Cleveland's use of vouchers³ for parochial schools. But will that stall the movement?

法官裁定克利夫兰将教育券用于教区学校的做法违法。但这一裁定会妨碍教育券运动吗？

Walter Milancuk's public-school horror story began early, when his son Derrick spent kindergarten in an overcrowded roomful of students who regularly fought in class and cursed the teacher. Milancuk wanted to transfer Derrick, but his salary as a forklift driver couldn't cover private-school tuition. Yet Milancuk found a way out, thanks to Cleveland's pioneering school-voucher² program, which granted him close to $1,500 in state funds to help enroll⁴ Derrick at St. Stanislaus, a nearby Catholic school. Now Derrick wears a crisp uniform. His reading has improved. And the weekly Mass and Bible study have moved Derrick to say his daily prayers without prompting. Says his dad, "The school is really building his faith."

沃特•米兰卡克在公立学校的不快经历早在儿子德里克上幼儿园的时候就开始了。当时德里克所在的幼儿园人满为患，学生们上课经常打架，骂老师。米兰卡克想让德里克转学，但他做叉车司机的收入支付不了私立学校的学费。好在米兰卡克终于找到了一个办法，这还要归功于克利夫兰首创的学校教育券计划。这一计划拨给他将近1500美元的州基金帮他让德里克在附近的圣•斯坦尼斯洛斯天主教学校注册上学。现在德里克穿着崭新的校服。他的阅读能力已经有所提高。每周做弥撒和学习圣经也使德里克受到熏陶，现在他不用人催就会每天做祷告。他爸爸说："这所学校真的在培养他的信念。"

That may prove to be more of a curse than a blessing⁵. Last week a federal judge struck down Cleveland's voucher program, ruling that it violates the constitutional separation of church and state. Citing Jefferson and Madison, Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. wrote that because four-fifths of the private schools participating in the voucher program are religious, the program robs parents of "genuine choice" between sectarian and secular⁶ schools, thus "advancing religion through government-supported religious indoctrination." The decision is the fourth in recent months to bar the use of vouchers in parochial schools, and voucher opponents--mainly teachers' unions and liberal interest groups--see it as a major victory.

可是，这与其说是件好事，不如说是件坏事。上周一位联邦法官裁定该计划违背了宪法政教分离的原则，这给克利夫兰的教育券计划带来了沉重打击。所罗门•奥利弗法官引用杰斐逊和麦迪逊的话写道，因为参与教育券计划的学校中有五分之四是宗教学校，这一计划实际上剥夺了家长在世俗学校和宗教学校之间做出"真正选择"的机会，继而"通过政府支持的宗教教育扩大宗教影响"。这一裁决是最近几个月来第四起禁止在教区学校使用教育券的裁决，而反对教育券的人---主要是教师工会和自由主义利益团体---则把它视为一场重大胜利。

Voucher backers--an unusual coalition⁷ of inner-city parents and conservative groups--retort that the judge misread both the Cleveland program and the First Amendment⁸. They point out that Cleveland parents who don't like parochial schools can send their kids to the city's regular public schools, or to public charter schools and magnet schools. Clint Bolick, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice, which defended the voucher program, says, "No one can compel a child into the program or into a religious school."

支持教育券的人---由内城区的家长和保守团体形成的一支不同寻常的联合阵线---反驳认为这位法官既不理解克利夫兰计划，也没有领会"宪法第一修正案"的真正含义。他们指出，那些不喜欢交换学校的克利夫兰家长可以把他们的孩子送到城里的正规公立学校，或者特许公立学校和英才学校（magnet school）。司法学院的律师克林特•伯里克曾为教育券计划辩护，他说："没有人能迫使一个孩子参与一个项目，或者进入一所宗教学校。"

Despite its recent setbacks, the voucher movement is gaining ground in state legislatures and some state courts. This fall Florida started the first statewide voucher program. And the Wisconsin Supreme⁹ Court upheld the use of vouchers in parochial schools in Milwaukee. In the presidential campaign, G.O.P. candidates John McCain and George W. Bush are trumpeting¹⁰ voucher proposals. While Vice¹¹ President Al Gore¹² launched an ad that calls vouchers a "big mistake," his Democratic opponent Bill Bradley supports them, at least as "experiments."

虽然最近遭遇了挫折，但教育券运动正在各州立法机构和一些州法院赢得支持。今年秋季，佛罗里达开始了第一项全州教育券计划。威斯康星最高法院也赞同密尔沃基教区学校使用教育券。在总统选举中，共和党候选人约翰•麦凯恩和乔治•W•布什都积极支持教育券计划。虽然副总统艾尔•戈尔在一则广告中宣称教育券是"一个严重错误"，其民主党内的对手比尔•布莱德里却对它们持支持态度，至少把它们当作"实验"。

Though the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear several school-choice cases, legal experts suspect the more clear-cut Cleveland case might prod¹³ it into action. In the meantime, Judge Oliver is allowing Derrick Milancuk and nearly 4,000 other students in the Cleveland voucher program to remain in their schools while his ruling is on appeal.

尽管美国最高法院拒绝审理几起选校案件，法律专家怀疑案情清楚的克利夫兰教育券案也许会促使高院行动起来。与此同时，奥利弗法官同意在他的裁决被上诉期间让德里克•米兰卡克和近4000名参与克利夫兰教育券计划的其他学生继续留在他们所在的学校里。