Currently, there are Statutes in Delaware that contradict the Constitution. The statutes which require that non-public schools report to the Department of Education defy the limitations set forth in the Constitution.
ARTICLE X: EDUCATION; SECTION 4: Use of Public School Fund: "No part of the Public School Fund, now or hereafter existing, shall be used for any other purpose than the support of free public schools."
The burden placed on the Department of Education (DOE) whenever somebody calls or corresponds with them, has monetary value. As of the 1999-2000 school year, in the State of Delaware, 26,584 children were enrolled in non-public schools. There were 414 non-public schools registered with the DOE. Each year, several mailings are sent to each of those schools, and a website is updated based on the information generated by the reports. This not only requires copying supplies, but postal costs, legal oversight, and, of course, the salaries and expensive benefit plans of administration and management personnel to oversee completion of these tasks. |
