CAN THE LIBERAL STATE SUPPORT CULTURAL-IDENTITY SCHOOLS

Recently, several groups in the United States and Canada-for example, American Indian/First Nations people, African-American males, and the deaf-have claimed the right to receive state support for cultural iden tity schools-that is, separate schools whose educational aims and prac tices are designed to reinforce a particular cultural identity. It is widely assumed that liberalism must be committed to a principle of cul tural neutrality that prevents a liberal state from assigning legitima cy to such demands. This article provides a close examination of the e thical principles a liberal state may adduce in making political judgm ents about such matters. First, two dominant perspectives that have em erged recently within liberal political and educational theory are dev eloped and critically evaluated and their educational implications exa mined. Specifically, a distinction between ''strong'' and ''moderate'' cultural identity schools is identified, and it is argued that a libe ral state may legitimately support the latter but not the former. I co nclude by considering several contextual factors a liberal state may h ave to consider in determining the legitimacy of specific demands for moderate cultural identity schools, especially demands made by disadva ntaged minority cultural groups.