EducationUSA: School Choice: New Jersey Governor becomes outstanding voice for school kids and parents
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It took 80 years in the Netherlands -- in what is called "the School Wars" -- for the establishment of a genuinely pluralist school-policy. I know of no jurisdiction in North America that has embraced a principled pluralist approach.
The School Struggle or Schoolstrijd [was] a historical conflict in the Netherlands between 1848 and 1917 over the equalization of public financing for religious schools. The Protestant and Catholic parties, the ARP and CHU and the Algemeene Bond respectively, wanted their religious schools to receive financing equal to that received by [atheist] public schools; while maintaining their freedom in for example curriculum policy, teacher appointments etc. that came with their religious tradition. Liberals tried to protect the privileged financial position of public schools. The conflict lasted from 1888 to 1917, when it was resolved in the pacificatie. (Wapedia article "School struggle.")
And:With this historical background to school pluralization, freedom of association, and equal payment in mind, we can look at the historically regressive situation in the USA and Canada. Read more ...
The Pacification of 1917 is an event in Dutch politics. In 1917 the constitution was changed by the extra-parliamentary cabinet led by Pieter Cort van der Linden in order to resolve the antithesis between religious and secular parties. It implemented both universal suffrage, proportional representation and equal payment for religious schools.
