§ 559. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares\nthat:\n 1. The vitality of our pluralistic society is, in part, dependent upon\nthe capacity of individual parents to select a school, other than\npublic, for the education of their children. A healthy competitive and\ndiverse alternative to public education is not only desirable but indeed\nvital to a state and nation that have continually reaffirmed the value\nof individual differences.\n 2. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized and\nreaffirmed this right of selection. This right, however, is diminished\nor even denied to children of lower-income families, whose parents, of\nall groups, have the least options in determining where their children\nare to be educated.\n 3. Quality education is made
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§ 559. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares\nthat:\n 1. The vitality of our pluralistic society is, in part, dependent upon\nthe capacity of individual parents to select a school, other than\npublic, for the education of their children. A healthy competitive and\ndiverse alternative to public education is not only desirable but indeed\nvital to a state and nation that have continually reaffirmed the value\nof individual differences.\n 2. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized and\nreaffirmed this right of selection. This right, however, is diminished\nor even denied to children of lower-income families, whose parents, of\nall groups, have the least options in determining where their children\nare to be educated.\n 3. Quality education is made possible for all children in our state\nonly because the burden of providing it has been carried by taxpayers\nwho support both public and nonpublic education. Any precipitous decline\nin the number of nonpublic school pupils would cause a massive increase\nin public school enrollment and costs. Such an increase would seriously\njeopardize quality education for all children and aggravate an already\nserious fiscal crisis in public education.\n 4. In recognition of the initiative of parents who support both public\nand nonpublic education, it is a legitimate purpose for the state to\npartially relieve the financial burden of parents who provide a\nnonpublic education for their children which satisfies the compulsory\neducation laws of the state. Such assistance is clearly secular, neutral\nand nonideological in nature and is consistent with the historical and\ncontinuing role of the state in providing a quality education for all\nchildren and in nurturing a pluralistic society.\n 5. The Arthur O. Eve Elementary and Secondary Education Opportunity\nProgram is hereby established, which consists of tuition reimbursement\nfor parents of low income, in order to provide partial assistance in\nmeeting the financial burden of supporting the compulsory education of\ntheir children who are full-time students in New York nonpublic\nelementary and secondary schools.\n