Introduction and Note from John Holmes, ACSI Director for Government Affairs
We here at ACSI have been advocating for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) for a long time. We care about these disadvantaged young people, and we want them to receive a good education. Also, this debate helps keep the discussion of school choice before the nation’s eyes.
The OSP makes it possible for poor children in failing Washington, DC, public schools to attend private and religious schools in the District of Columbia by using federal funds, because of the unique relationship DC has with the federal government. That being said, maybe you would find a review of the OSP beneficial. If you need a refresher course regarding the history of the program, as I did, read the policy brief on the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program that is available on the Heritage Foundation’s InsiderOnline website.
Currently, advocates for OSP are attempting to save scholarships for 216 children, who are not going to be allowed entry into the program even though they were granted participation this past spring. Now the promised participation has been barred by the federal government. DC parents and children protested recently in front of the U.S. Department of Education in hopes that the Obama administration would allow the children referred to as the “D.C. 216” to participate. See the August 21 “Parents Rally for Vouchers” article in the Washington Times for details on this protest.
Two hundred sixteen may not sound like a large number, but the average ACSI member school has fewer students than that. Please pray for the DC 216. They still need the chance to attend private and religious schools, including several ACSI member Christian schools in DC.
It would be a great benefit to these children if you would send a letter to the President and your State Senators. It is easy to do. Give it a try at the
Save Opportunity! website.
We truly value you, your Christian school, and what God has called you to do! Have a blessed new school year.
From Capitol Hill
ACSI and Advocates International’s opposition to “Hate Crimes Amendment #1511.” Amendment 1511 is an attachment to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (S 1390). Amendment 1511 contains the identical wording of the hate crimes measure S 909, introduced in April by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA). In our joint letter to Senate leaders, we contended that the amendment was based on “a flawed premise—that certain categories of individuals, because of their sexual orientation, deserve special protection under Federal law.” It could make “behaviors considered sinful and immoral by most major religions be elevated to create a protected ‘minority’ class.” We concluded that amendment 1511 was “a serious threat to faith-believing Americans’ freedom of religion and speech.” We were disappointed that our arguments did not stop the attachment of the amendment, but our plea and the ongoing discussions initiated by us and others caused the Senate to pass the Brownback amendment, which partially protected our rights as religious entities. My greatest fear in all of this debate is the disregard for religious groups that “have no steeple,” such as Christian schools controlled by lay boards. ACSI and fellow religious groups—and even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)—continue to work for helpful changes as the two versions of this defense-authorization bill go to conference upon the return of Congress on September 8 following its summer recess. For more information, you can do a general Internet search under “ACLU Speaks Out Against Senate Hate Crimes Measure,” a Washington Blade article by Chris Johnson.
Mandatory sick leave bills. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) reintroduced the Healthy Families Act in both houses. Both bills (HR 2460 and S 1152) would allow “Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families.” The House bill has 109 cosponsors, whereas the Senate’s has only 20 cosponsors. See the Library of Congress THOMAS website for more details.
At-Risk: the 11-year-old defense-of-marriage law (DOMA). On August 18, 2009, the Obama administration filed documents
“claiming that federal laws banning same-sex marriage are discriminatory, even as the federal government continues to defend them.
… the Justice Department stated that the Obama administration opposes the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act as discriminatory and supports its repeal. Yet the motion also calls for the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a gay California couple seeking to overturn the federal marriage law.”
In a presidential statement, President Obama clarified “that the Justice Department ‘traditionally’ files briefs defending the law ‘when acts of Congress are challenged.’ ” Please note that the president has reversed his campaign pledge in favor of traditional marriage that he made at Pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church debate last summer. —Valerie Richardson, “Obama Backs Marriage Act Repeal,” Washington Times, 8/18/09
The parental rights amendment (HJ Res. 42) introduced by Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) already has 114 cosponsors in the House—more than 12 cosponsors to every 1 supporting HR 3200, the highly debated health care bill! This proposed U.S. constitutional amendment reads as follows:
Section 1. The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.
Section 2. Neither the United States nor any State shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.
Section 3. No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.
The Senate version of this proposed parental rights amendment, SJ Res. 16, has only 4 cosponsors. Let’s encourage our congressional leaders to sign on. Learn more at the Parentalrights.org website.
Landmark credit card legislation (Public Law 111-24), signed into law by President Obama, began to take partial effect in late August. Many changes are being made. For example, “issuers must give customers 45 days’ notice before raising their interest rates, instead of 15 days as previously required. Customers can then choose to pay what they owe at the original rate over time but will not be able to use the card for future purchases.” Consumer advocates, such as Credit.com, were pleased with the changes. But Consumer Action’s spokesman Joe Ridout stated that “for another six months consumers are just sitting ducks for whatever abuses credit card companies can dream up.” Learn more about most credit cards from Consumer Action, and note its annual evaluation of annual fees, percentages of interest, and limitations of such cards.
—Nancy Trejos, “Starting Thursday, Credit Card Users Get More Rights,” Washington Post, 8/18/09
News You Can Use
Updated State Regulation of Private Schools report. In August, the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE’s) Office of Non-Public Education (ONPE) published an updated State Regulation of Private Schools report, which provides brief descriptions of each state’s requirements that apply to K–12 private schools. The report serves as a reference for public and nonpublic school officials, state policy-makers, researchers, and others. Some of the topics covered are accreditation, registration, licensing, approval, teacher certification, curriculum, and record keeping.
This truly helpful document was one of the last official efforts of a true friend of both school choice and the Christian school movement, Dr. Jack Klenk. Last fall, the Legal/Legislative Committee of the ACSI Executive Board honored Jack for his 28 years of effective service with the DOE, especially as director of the ONPE. ACSI is so grateful for all of Jack Klenk’s efforts on behalf of private- and religious-school students, and we wish him God’s very best. Pray that God will raise up more government bureaucrats like Jack, who gave government work a good name.
[Most people don’t know this, but much of Jack’s vacation time over the years was invested in teaching Christian teachers in eastern Africa. I would not be surprised if he returned there in retirement. —Ed.]
Updated guidance on the H1N1 flu for the 2009/2010 school year. This summer, the federal government released updated guidance and a new “toolkit” to help school officials prepare for and respond to the H1N1 flu during the 2009/2010 school year. The new resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) include recommendations for school responses to flu outbreaks similar in severity to what took place this past spring as well as to potentially more-severe outbreaks. The tool kit contains practical advice on ways to contain the spread of flu, sample letters to parents, and posters related to flu prevention. Complete information about the August 7 CDC announcement as well as Web links to the new guidance and tool kit are available on ACSI’s website.
America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009 is available now from the federal interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Twenty-two federal government agencies that are involved in research and activities related to children and families contributed to this document. The fascinating “Education” section, for example, presents key indicators of “how well children are learning and progressing from early childhood through postsecondary school.” Every other year the complete report is offered, and this is the case in 2009. Request your
free copy now, while supplies last, from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Information Center by (a) writing to the HRSA Information Center at PO Box 2910, Merrifield, Virginia 22116; (b) phoning 1.888.ASK.HRSA; or (c) faxing 703.821.2098. An e-copy and additional charts not contained in the document are available at the ChildStats.gov website.
National Notes, September 2009