Sex education is, of course, one of the more obvious examples. Recently, Planned Parenthood raised eyebrows by including, in their recommended sex-education materials for "safe" sex for 8th graders, instructions that saran wrap be used as protection when engaging in oral and anal sex.

The National Education Association, which represents public school teachers, has a section for sex education on its website and included is a link to the Planned Parenthood site. So much for value neutral education.

Poor kids wind up being slammed by a double jeopardy. First, they are trapped in failing schools that are insulated from the prime condition that produces improvement _ competition. Second, the failing schools in which they are trapped teach exclusively relativist values that are the opposite of what these kids need for climbing out of chaos and poverty.

The pioneers of public education in America, people like Benjamin Franklin and Horace Mann, viewed it as a given that traditional values and morals could not be separated from the idea of education. On school curricula, Mann said "principles of morality should be copiously intermingled with the principles of science."

American society is too complex (and confused?) today to universally accept core moral principles as part of public education. So we are left with one solution. Allow parents to choose where to send their child to school and allow a marketplace of alternatives.

Under Governor Bush's leadership, the Opportunity Scholarship Program in Florida is opening new doors and opportunities for poor children and setting an example for the whole nation. Let's hope that the Florida Supreme Court gives the green light to this critical and innovative program.