Catholic schools, for example, are notable for drawing families across many racial and socio-economic lines. To the extent that voucher programs must satisfy diversity claims, therefore, it could be that vouchers should arguably be provided for some religious schools but not for these other private schools. Thus, this is another important set of considerations that we will address in our paper. School choice advocates would refashion the compromise by providing public support to parents who elect private education or alternative school options offered by public school systems. Discussions of every aspect of this subject invariably assume that pluralism and school choice go together.
Arguments rely on their inseparability, their implied identity.
Advocates are not always explicit about what pluralist dimensions we can expect to find in education - supporters are encouraged to fill in their own aspirations. Differences in curriculum and pedagogy per se are insufficient. Pluralism refers to schools designed in accord with some community's particular values and goals, most often schools organized around culture, language, or religion. Choice is supposed to increase pluralism, and pluralism is supposed to be generally accessible, with opportunities for choice. My thesis is that pluralism and school choice have no inherent connection and that attempts to link them reflect a degree of careless presumption or bad faith.