- IN THIS REPORT
Readers will find a state-by-state update on vital developments, recognition of a school choice giant, recent Blum Center information, and the Editor's View on bizarre things said to keep educational finance monopoly (EFM) in place.
CONNECTICUT
The road to school choice has taken an unexpected detour
in the state of Connecticut. On June 5, the legislature was slated to vote
on a school choice measure allowing local school districts to establish
district-wide choice. The measure was withdrawn in the late hours of the
session by Governor Rowland and Republican legislators for fear that the
bill might not pass the Senate. While there was a reported majority favorable
to the bill in the House, the Senate vote would have been marginal. Had
the bill failed in the Senate, the prospects of school choice in Connecticut
might have been endangered for the near future.
In a June 5 letter to Senate Majority Leader, James T. Fleming, the Governor suggested the establishment of a Blue Ribbon panel as a means to generate discussion regarding school choice. The study commission is to convene during the summer to "explore in detail the best way to bring school choice to the students and families of Connecticut." Both the Governor and legislators are hopeful that the study commission will increase support for a voucher system. "If we can take some time and sit down with people on all sides, I think we can increase support," commented Senator Win Smith Jr., the leading supporter of the proposal in the Senate. The state legislature is to reconvene next February. (The Hartford Courant, 06/06/95)
ILLINOIS
At the end of the current legislative session the Illinois
House voted down SB 17, a $2,500 voucher proposal. (See Freedom Report
#19.) The bill was eleven votes short of a majority, but under House rules
is eligible to come up for another vote during the upcoming fall session.
SB 17 was passed by the Senate on March 8 by a vote of 31-23. Key Republican
leaders in the Illinois House remain enthusiastic about the bill. (Education
Week, 05/24/95) If passed, SB 17 would create a limited pilot voucher
plan for low-income families from a sub-district of Chicago. Governor Jim
Edgar remains supportive of a small-scale voucher program. (See Freedom
Report #21.) Though not yet successful, the school choice effort in
Illinois has made great progress in a very brief time.
MINNESOTA
As mentioned in Educational Freedom Report #20,
the Senate Education Committee voted not to act on the Minnesota Educational
Certificate Aid Act of 1995 (SF 1377). Instead, it postponed a vote to
allow for further study over the interim between legislative sessions.
Senate Committee Chair Larry Pogemiller has announced plans to conduct
hearings on the bill later this summer or fall to provide additional time
for the Committee to study the bill. (CELM Chronicle, 05/95)
OHIO
The proposed Cleveland school voucher pilot program which
passed through the House in early April was eliminated by the state Senate
in its rewrite of the two year state budget. The House version, favored
by Governor Voinovich, would have ordered Cleveland schools to offer vouchers
to 2,000 students by means of $5.25 million in state aid. Although the
voucher proposal failed in the Senate due to lack of support from the Republican
majority, there is still hope that the plan may be reinstated.
Delegates from both houses are to meet this month in a joint Senate-House conference committee to reconcile differences in their budget versions, and the voucher proposal is sure to be a chief issue of debate. Should a voucher component be adopted in the conference committee, it could well pass the legislature. Representative William Batchelder, a Medina Republican, promised a tough fight from House members to restore a voucher program. Governor Voinovich's spokesman, Michael Dawson, said that the Governor will continue to lobby Senate Republicans to establish a voucher pilot program of some kind. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 05/26/95)
OREGON
A swiftly-introduced school choice legislative proposal
appeared in the Oregon House last month. HB 3464, a bill calling for a
public vote on education vouchers for private schools, passed the State
and School Finance Committee 5-0 without any public testimony. The suddenness
of the proposal surprised both the opposition and school choice supporters
alike. The bill's sponsor, Representative John Schoon, said he had tried
to introduce legislation earlier but was not able to produce a draft. The
bill, which would have become law only after a successful referendum effort,
would have given every student who enrolled in private schools after June
1, 1997, a voucher worth up to half the per-pupil expense in public schools
(approximately $4,400). The House voted to send the measure back to the
Rules Committee where it will receive no further consideration this session.
Schoon said he hopes that this would encourage more discussion of the issue.
(Oregonian, 5/18/95, 5/25/95)
PENNSYLVANIA
A vote on Pennsylvania's state budget, including Governor
Tom Ridge's school choice proposal which is contained in HB 1640 (a copy
of the bill is now available from the Blum Center), has been postponed
from the week of June 5 to the week of June 12. House Majority Leader John
M. Perzel (R - Philadelphia) blamed the delay on the time required for
printing and copying bills, coupled with the time required for legislators
to review them adequately. Perzel's aide stated that the vote for tuition
grants was "very close" if not "over the top" in favor of Ridge's proposal.
(Philadelphia Inquirer, 06/09/95) For a description of the proposal,
see Freedom Report #19.
WASHINGTON D.C.
As we mentioned previously (see Freedom Report #20),
House Speaker Newt Gingrich asked Wisconsin Representative Steve Gunderson
to study the city's school system and work on legislation to improve the
current situation. Gunderson will present a draft of his bill, likely to
include a school choice provision, some time this month. Meanwhile, House
Republicans are devising a campaign which will market their educational
reform plans to D.C. residents. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/29/95;
Education Week, 05/24/95)
WISCONSIN
On May 12, Wisconsin's Joint Finance Committee voted
11-5 to expand the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to include
all private Milwaukee schools—public, nonpublic, and religious. Committee
members also agreed to raise the cap on the number of students eligible
for the program to 15%, or about 15,000 students, by the 1996-'97 school
year. (For more details on the expansion of MPCP, see Freedom Report
#21.) The outlook for passage by the legislature seems favorable. The State
Assembly is expected to vote on the proposal by approximately June 17,
and the Senate must act prior to June 30. Governor Thompson's 1995-'97
budget also includes a measure to create a statewide "education commission"
which would set long-range educational goals and policies. (Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, 06/08/95)
PENNSYLVANIA REACH ALLIANCE
The May 21 Allentown (PA) Morning Call ran a feature
story on David Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of Pennsylvania's REACH
Alliance, describing him as a primary mover and shaker for school choice
in that state. The Morning Call story made exquisitely clear the
tremendous part played by David Kirkpatrick in the development of a political
climate finally hospitable for parental freedom in Pennsylvania.
Those of us who have had the pleasure of working with David can attest to an impact which, decisive as it has been in Pennsylvania, far transcends that state. His 1990 Choice in Schooling, A Case for Tuition Vouchers is one of the vitally important contributions to the intellectual capital required to overcome the social inertia which, up to now, has protected educational finance monopoly. His background in the public schools, and fourteen years as a leader of teachers' unions, has helped David shed important light on the structures and motives which have worked to prevent parental freedom and school choice. And his indefatigable willingness to participate, engage, and enlighten has made him a powerful resource for school choice colleagues around the nation.
How fitting it will be if David's tenure with REACH is capped off with victory for school choice in Pennsylvania, victory for all that state's parents, and students. It is a great pleasure to note that he will continue to be available to help others around the nation. He can be reached at 2323 Rudy Road, Harrisburg, PA 17104-2025. Well done, David Kirkpatrick and the REACH Alliance.
David will pass the REACH baton on June 30, 1995, to Chris Freind, (yes, 'E' before 'I'), who can be contacted at the REACH Alliance, P.O. Box 1283, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1283, (717) 238-1878, FAX (717) 232-5046.
Announcements
¨ The American Association
of Educators in Private Paractice (AAEPP) is co-sponsoring the "Edventures
95" conference taking place July 13-15 at the University of St. Thomas,
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Edventures 95 is a conference designed to explore
new opportunities in educating children and adults. Topics range from educational
techniques to administration to charter school legislation. For an application
and full schedule of events contact Chris Yelich at the AAEPP at N7425
Switzke Road, Watertown, WI 53094, or call 1-800-252-3280.
¨ Americans for Choice in Education will be holding a "How to Hands On" conference/banquet discussing vouchers on October 7, in Arlington, Virginia. For more information, contact Americans for Choice in Education, 927 S. Walter Reed Dr., #1, Arlington, Virginia 22204.
¨ Allyson M. Tucker, the former manager of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Educational Law and Policy, has now joined the National Policy Forum, in Washington D.C. She can be contacted at National Policy Forum, 229½ Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington D.C., 20003.
Recent Acquisitions
¨ The Blum Center recently
received the Private School Monitor, Vol. 16 No. 4, which is published
by the Associates for Research on Private Education (ARPE). This issue
looks at various aspects of accreditation for private schools. Articles
outline how the private accreditation process works and consider the state's
view of private education and the issue of public accountability.
¨ CEO America has produced an audio tape of various speakers present at the March 11, 1995, conference in Orlando. The speakers included leaders of private voucher programs across the nation such as J. Patrick Rooney and James Mansour. They discussed the benefits of private vouchers and the history and future of vouchers, private and public, in America. For additional information, a copy of the audio tape, or a copy of the spring, '95, CEO America newsletter, The Voucher Voice, which gives details about the conference, contact Fritz Steiger, President, P.O. Box 1543, Bentonville, AR 72712-1543, (501) 273-6957, FAX (501) 271-7872.
¨ In a May 27 memorandum, Dr. William J. Tobin offers news about S. 850, the Child Care and Development Block Grants Amendments Act of 1995. (See Freedom Report # 19 and # 20 for additional information.) The Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, in a unanimous role-call vote, approved S. 850. This bill is an improvement on the Child Care Block Grant bill passed on March 24 by the U.S. House, because "an overwhelming part of the funding (80%) is set aside for direct services to eligible children, and presumably, the preponderance of this will take place through parent child care certificates/vouchers."
¨ We have received from the Texas Justice Foundation a memo dated May 8, 1995, to Senator Bill Ratliffe, Chairman of the Texas Senate Education Committee, from Jack Elrod, Staff Counsel of the Senate Education Committee. The memo clearly states that in Mr. Elrod's opinion, "The Public Education Scholarship Pilot Program, Subchapter G, Chapter 29 of Senate Bill 1, which would allow parents to use publicly funded vouchers to pay tuition at private sectarian schools does not violate the federal or state constitution provisions related to separation of church and state." It is, thus, yet another blow at the church-state smoke screen. For additional information, please contact Allan Parker at the Texas Justice Foundation at 8122 Data Point Dr., Suite 906, San Antonio, Texas 78229, (210) 614-7157.
Legislative Proposals
¨ The Blum Center now
has a draft copy of New York's S. 1388/A. 2053 of the current session.
The last issue of the Freedom Report passed along erroneous information
that the bill proposed vouchers worth up to $2,380 for the first three
years of the program for levels K-8. The correct amount of the vouchers
would be $3,400.
¨ Also available to Blum Center correspondents is a working translation of Puerto Rico's legislation creating the "Educational Foundation for the Free Selection of Schools," a foundation to finance education vouchers for public school students who transfer to private schools. (See Freedom Report #21.)
Surveys, Reports, &
Studies
¨ Allyson M. Tucker and
William Lauber have compiled the Heritage Foundation's 1995 Edition of
"School Choice Programs What's Happening in The States." This study surveys
school choice activity in each of the fifty states providing a review of
last year and a brief description of the situation in 1995. Also included
is a list of private voucher and scholarship programs across the country.
For copies of the report, or additional information, contact the Heritage
Foundation at 214 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-4999,
(202) 546-4400, FAX (202) 544-2260.
- We will count no unhatched chickens in this space. But
there is a powerful fact at work in two states: in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania
parental freedom via school choice is close to breaking out. Educational
finance monopoly (EFM) is seriously threatened, as astute political leadership
in those two states brings their political processes to what we hope will
be the end game, with very different but equally impressive school choice
initiatives. The Freedom Report in recent issues has provided ample
evidence of excellent development in both states.
But even if we knew nothing about the buildup of political support for school choice in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, we could tell EFM is endangered because of the increasingly shrill, even desperate noises emanating from its spokesmen. Among the smoke screens much with us, I will select just two to illustrate the point. As luck would have it, both are examples of the logical fallacy known as "the unextended middle," that fallacy in which the premise and a conclusion are provided, but all the facts and argument needed to connect them are missing, and are, thus, "unextended."
Much of EFM's Pennsylvania defense against Governor Ridge's school choice proposal (see, e.g., 'Ridge Plan for Schools Has Little to Offer Poor; It Fails to Address Fundamental Problems, Critics say. And in the End, School-Choice Grants Would Leave Out the Neediest,' by Dale Messacappa, Philadelphia Inquirer, 05-14-95) takes this form: "The voucher's size ($700 - $1000) means it will not adequately empower the poor to exercise choice — therefore, oppose the voucher program!" Ah, but there is no legitimate "therefore" there. If one truly thinks the voucher dollars are too small, and that the poor require larger sums to achieve choice, then the logical conclusion would seem to be: increase voucher value. It is a fact that even the $700 - $1000 voucher will assist the poor to some extent. The limits on it derive from perceived budgetary limitations, not from the logic of school choice. That logic says simply: let parents and guardians, rather than state educational bureaucracies, decide how to assign some or all of education-dedicated tax dollars. But getting from the finance monopoly status quo to that school choice North Star may require several steps. Governor Ridge's proposal is one entirely acceptable way to get started. "Not enough for the poor" when pronounced by a defender of parents' rights logically should be a motive for taking future steps. "Not enough for the poor" when asserted by an EFM-defender who wants neither poor nor better-off parents to control education dollars, looks and smells like a red herring meant to distract.
And, speaking of red herrings, unextended middles, and only-imaginary "therefores," how about this oft-heard Wisconsin criticism of the proposed Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) expansion: "If you expand it to include more children and religiously-motivated schools, parents all around the state will want it! Therefore, oppose MPCP expansion!" Now, wait a minute. If parents all around the state wanted it, that would mean they judged school choice meritorious. How does that provide a reason for opposing MPCP expansion? It provides no such reason, obviously. Rather, using parent demand for school choice as a reason for blocking it appears to reflect two fundamental mindsets among EFM defenders: first, let parents be damned; second, the EFM status quo deserves to be protected at all costs, for, to its defenders, it has become an end-in-itself, beyond criticism, comparison and replacement.
Such are the strange sounds that come from EFM's defenders as it is finally exposed to serious political evaluation and judgment and thus seen for what it is: protection of financial interest by now-slipping political controls. Not pretty. But not surprising.n
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