Catholics or Jews Need Not Apply

Accepting federal funds means rejecting discrimination

By ANDREW TARSY and ROBERT TRESTAN
Guest Commentary

New Hampshire Union Leader
September 23, 2005

WHAT RELIGION do you practice? Be prepared to answer if you apply for a job with a Head Start program in your community; that is, if some members of Congress have their way, the future of the historic Head Start anti-poverty pre-school education program is at stake because some lawmakers want to legalize some forms of discrimination in hiring and firing.

Unfortunately, few Americans probably realize the major change Congress is contemplating as it debates legislation to reauthorize Head Start, which has an annual appropriation of more than $6 billion and serves almost one million children nationwide. In New Hampshire, more than 1,600 children participate in the program at a cost in excess of $13 million annually. When Congress considers reauthorization, an amendment is expected to be offered that would allow, for the first time, religious discrimination in the hiring of teachers and staff for the Head Start program, which is funded by taxpayers.

Historically, faith-based institutions have played a vital role in addressing many of our nation's most pressing social needs. Government-funded partnerships with religiously affiliated organizations such as Catholic Charities, Jewish Community Federations and Lutheran Social Services, for example, have helped combat poverty and provide housing, education and health care services for those in need. Historically, however, these programs have not been permitted to use religious criteria in the hiring and firing of staff, the way private religious organizations are generally allowed to under the law.

Currently, as a condition of accepting federal funds, all Head Start programs, including those housed in churches and other religious institutions, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of religion both in hiring and service delivery. On May 18, the House Education and Workforce Committee approved the Head Start reauthorization by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 48 to 0 — retaining the existing civil rights and anti-discrimination provisions. Yet the committee chairman, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, with the support of the White House, has announced that he intends to offer an amendment on the House floor to repeal these long-standing anti-discrimination provisions.

In a widely circulated letter dated May 25, Rep. Boehner stated that the prohibition against using religion as a basis for hiring means that faith-based organizations are being "pressured to surrender their religious identities" and that this constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act. Rep. Boehner describes the current Head Start law as a "slap in the face to religious organizations across America." This is simply not the case. The Civil Rights Act protects all Americans from religious discrimination in government-funded programs.

Last year, Head Start programs employed more than 200,000 people and had 1.3 million volunteers in 48,000 classrooms nationwide. Head Start teachers and volunteers have benefited from this fundamental civil rights protection against employment discrimination since the program's enactment in 1981. The provision received strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate at the time of its passage and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

If Congress approves an amendment that allows religion to be used as a basis for hiring and firing in government-funded programs, teachers and staff working at Head Start programs housed in religious organizations could immediately be given pink slips because of their religion. Programs housed in religious facilities would have legal permission to implement policies not to hire Christians, Jews or Muslims. Tens of thousands of already at-risk children could lose their teachers, with whom they have formed emotional bonds. In addition, Head Start could lose thousands of parent volunteers essential to the success of the program merely because those parents do not share the religious beliefs of the host religious organization.

Ironically, proponents of this change have highlighted the fact that the existing reauthorization bill will improve teacher quality by ensuring that a greater number of Head Start teachers have degrees and are adequately trained in early childhood development. Yet if the discrimination amendment passes, religious affiliation and belief may trump merit as a hiring criteria.

Anti-discrimination laws have helped to protect religious freedom in this great and diverse nation, and religious communities have made extraordinary contributions to the Head Start program while abiding by its prohibition against discrimination. Government-sanctioned discrimination in federallyfunded programs like Head Start will only undermine the equality and religious freedom of all Americans and turn back the clock on our nation's hard-won civil rights laws.

Andrew Tarsy is regional director and Robert Trestan is civil rights counsel of the Anti-Defamation League — New England.