One approach to a pluralist dilemma : private school aid policy in France, 1959-1985

The question of whether or not a government should subsidize private schools is an example of what Dahl (1982) called a "pluralist dilemma." The democratic principle of freedom supports the right of private organizations to establish schools; yet the principles of equality and social solidarity encourage government restrictions on such schools. Since the nineteenth century the United States has permitted private schools to exist while offering them little public funding. Recently this policy has been attacked. Opponents often argue that almost all other Western democracies subsidize private education. This research investigated private school aid policy in France between 1959 and 1985. The major research methodology was the documentary analysis of primary source materials. Interviews of sixteen French policy actors supplemented the documentary analysis. France adopted the 1959 Debre Act when political legitimacy was low. A baby boom and financial problems in Catholic education combined to threaten a potential economic crisis in French education. The Debre Act offered substantial public funding to private education while regulating it to protect the superior position of public education. Major policy mechanisms included the subcontracting of secular instruction to private schools, restrictions on the supply of private education, and the linkage of funding levels in the two sectors. Subsidized private schools also had to accept students regardless of their religious, ethnic, or class backgrounds. In the 1970s increasing cultural pluralism and neo-conservative ideology led to a loosening of some regulations. However, in 1985 the Debre Act was largely restored to its 1959 form, with the addition of tighter financial regulations. The French policy successfully protected the integrity of the public school system. Private school enrollments did not rise disproportionately, nor did social segregation increase. This success resulted largely from the heavy regulation of private education. The nature of French political institutions and cultural pluralism also facilitated the adoption and maintenance of the program. The policy generated considerable political conflict between 1977 and 1985. Because of the distinctive nature of American constitutional law, political institutions, and pluralism, it would be difficult to implement such a policy in the United States. Americans should therefore seek to enhance educational freedom by using policies other than the subsidizing of private schools.