Introduction and Note from John Holmes, ACSI Director for Government Affairs
I have been ruminating on a quote by Judith Jamison in the March 2010 Wall Street Journal: “I’m in the not-for-profit world, so when you say new money, it’s thrilling. It has that freshly minted flavor. It also slips out of your hand faster.” If Jamison is right, and I think she is, maybe we should be careful when new sources of money come to our Christian schools. All of us have to learn all over again what God showed Pharaoh in a dream. Yes, the cows may be healthy now, but the starving ones may eat them up if we don’t use wisely what God has provided (as Joseph had instructed Pharaoh to do). I’m close to retirement, but it’s quite easy for the economic system to eat up what my little family has. But God is our source, and He’s the one who will protect us. In our financially darkest hour, He can provide for us. He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).
God first, then finances. True confession? I have failed to always remember that—and now I continue to ask for His forgiveness, and I am determined to trust only in Him. “IN GOD WE TRUST,” we read on U.S. money. Our trust cannot be in “mammon”—new or otherwise. Dear Lord, help me not to be your enemy, but your humble servant, even in finances: “May God arise, may His enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him” (Psalm 68: 1, NIV).
Maybe this is a better way to riches: Orrin Orewiler (1928–2010), who tried to teach me how to play softball in Mansfield, Ohio, went to be with the Lord on March 23. He played me at second base and right field. (Any athlete knows what that means!) Years later, I got three hits in one game and remembered Orrin and his teaching efforts for God and for us church kids. None of his efforts were in vain!
From Capitol Hill
ACSI letter of support to the Senate regarding lower interest for student loans: Sen. Alexander (R-TN), former secretary of education, university president, and governor of Tennessee, has done the right thing by proposing a reduction in the student-loan interest rates in the reconciliation bill now before the U.S. Senate. I am encouraging many of our ACSI member colleges and schools to support his legislation and to call for its bipartisan support. Here is an excerpt from the letter of support I wrote on March 24, 2010:
Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ACSI is the world’s largest association of Protestant schools. Its mission is to enable Christian schools and educators worldwide to effectively prepare students for life. ACSI leads its 5,500 member schools in 106 countries to greater effectiveness through services that fall within the following broad categories: school improvement, professional development, and resources for the unique needs of children.… Even if the Sen. Alexander’s legislation doesn’t pass [it didn’t pass], ACSI would encourage the senator to come out with a duplicate bill that we would be proud to support. Respectfully yours, John C. Holmes
A pattern? In February, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the White House announced the Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge, inviting only “public schools across the country to compete to have President Obama speak at their graduation.” On March 23, 2010, the White House reserved 3,000 tickets to have students in only traditional public and charter schools attend its annual Easter Egg Roll.
—CAPE (Council for American Private Education) letter to private school leaders, March 24, 2010
HR 4247 passed the House on March 3. Now we need to resist its passage in the Senate. Authored by the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the bill addresses the use in schools of the physical restraint and seclusion of students. In the bill’s current form, its provisions are applicable to any school enrolling students who receive support in any form from funds (direct or indirect) appropriated by the USDE. Any private school enrolling even a single student receiving services such as those provided by Title I would thus be subject to the provisions of the proposed law.
Please note that HR 4247 proposes limitations that may be counterproductive to student safety while mandating staff training and imposing reporting requirements most private schools will likely find objectionable. Select the hyperlinks below to view two informative documents:
- A copy of the bill—HR 4247
- A copy of a letter to the House’s Committee on Education and Labor that was penned by CAPE’s executive director, Joe McTighe, which I urge you to read
—HR 4247 CAPE letter, February 3, 2010
In its current form, the bill would establish a highly undesirable precedent by using pupil participation in federally funded programs as a trigger for the imposition of completely unrelated regulations. Keep in mind that private schools are not considered recipients of direct federal financial assistance if their students and teachers participate in federally funded programs. However, this legislation covers all schools that accept direct or indirect federal funding. ACSI is a member of CAPE and supports its efforts in Washington DC.
Here are talking points for calls or e-mails to your two senators:
- HR 4247 is authored by Rep. George Miller, and it is a bill addressing issues related to the physical restraint and seclusion of students in schools.
- I strongly agree with the intent of the bill, which is to safeguard the well-being of our school children.
- Nevertheless, this bill contains provisions that could have exactly the opposite effect. For example,
- a teacher might be reluctant to break up a playground scuffle between two students, or
- a school staff member might think twice before grabbing a child who is about to run into a carpool area during after-school pickup time.
- The bill subjects private schools to unfunded training, monitoring, and reporting requirements on the basis of student participation in federally funded programs such as Title I—even though private schools have never been considered recipients of federal financial assistance in such instances.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Learn more by visiting the Legal/Legislative Web pages of the ACSI website.
Promotion of the child-benefit theory. Adam B. Schaeffer from the CATO Institute shows us why the money should follow the student—so that school choice is available to that child. Show this video to the friends and foes of school choice.
Sea change in DC. Despite losing the Senate vote for the Lieberman-Collins extension of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) by virtually a party-line vote, something is changing here in Washington. The Metro station is filled with huge signs featuring DCOSP kids who are saying, “Let me rise.” And people are starting to believe it! Even liberal 20-somethings on the Hill are starting to say that these poor kids in wretched public schools do need a better education. Throwing money at the DC public schools isn’t enough. Five more years of constant failure isn’t giving the families adequate hope. We, as Christians and as believers in the right of parents to find adequate schooling for their kids, need to be praying, confronting our public officials, and stepping out to help Dr. Vernard Gant, the ACSI director of Urban School Services, and others who have sensible solutions to help these children. (For more details, read the PDF below and this Washington Post article.)
DCOSP and HR 4247
News You Can Use
Amicus briefs. ACSI and its member schools have been asked to work with the Becket Fund on an amicus brief (friend-of-the-court brief). What follows is from a Becket Fund e-mail on March 22, 2010:
We are writing to see if ACSI or any of its member institutions would consider getting involved as an amicus at the Sixth Circuit in the EEOC v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School case,—F.3d—2010 WL 770190 (6th Cir. Mar. 9, 2010).… [T]he case involves the “ministerial exception,” which protects religious organizations from employment and other discrimination lawsuits brought by employees who teach the faith. The Sixth Circuit’s decision would eliminate this constitutional protection with respect to any staff members whose duties are not primarily teaching religious topics (e.g., math or science teachers). We have been retained to overturn the Sixth Circuit’s decision.
A number of different religious organizations are set to file an amicus (or more probably, several different amicus briefs) in the appeal. The due date for any amicus brief is April 30. Please let [the Becket Fund] know if you have any questions and whether ACSI or any of its member institutions are interested.
Only 10 questions. Just in case the parents or students at your school have questions about the U.S. Census 2010, remind them that the census is required by the U.S. Constitution and that they can learn more at the U.S. Census Bureau website. By the way, I was shocked by how short it was!
Politics-free RTTT? You’ll love this policy-wonk article about the U.S. Department of Education and its Race to the Top (RTTT) grant-money-recipient states that is posted on a Thomas B. Fordham Institute blog site.
A national curriculum? Many U.S. governors and chief state-school officers recently introduced a proposed list of standards, the Common Core State Standards Initiative, for what students should learn in math and English from kindergarten through high school. Does this document look like a national curriculum to you?
A ban on pre-1985 books? “The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 may be read to prohibit the sale or distribution of books published before 1985 to students 12 and under” (emphasis added). Because of confusion over the law, “the Consumer Product Safety Commission delayed enforcement of the rule until February 10, 2010, in the hopes of providing more guidance. As of this writing, very limited further guidance has been provided and enforcement day is now [in the] past.”
—“Pre-1985 Books Banned from School Libraries?” Independent School Advocate legislative update, March 2010
The following “Q&A” is from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website:
Does the new requirement for total lead on children’s products apply to children’s books, cassettes and CDs, printed game boards, posters and other printed goods used for children’s education?
In general, yes. CPSIA defines children’s products as those products intended primarily for use by children 12 and under. Accordingly, these products would be subject to the lead limit for paint and surface coatings at 16 CFR part 1303 (and the 90 ppm lead paint limit effective August 14, 2009) as well as the new lead limits for children’s products containing lead (600 ppm lead limit effective February 10, 2009, and 300 ppm lead limit effective August 14, 2009). If the children’s products use printing inks or materials which actually become a part of the substrate, such as the pigment in a plastic article, or those materials which are actually bonded to the substrate, such as by electroplating or ceramic glazing, they would be excluded from the lead paint limit. However, these products are still considered to be lead containing products irrespective of whether such products are excluded from the lead paint limit and are subject to the lead limits for children’s products containing lead. For lead containing children’s products, CPSIA specifically provides that paint, coatings, or electroplating may not be considered a barrier that would render lead in the substrate inaccessible to a child.
A final note. Check out an article from Focus on the Family Action’s Citizenlink.com on the California legislature’s request to the IRS regarding same-sex couples. Granting this request would cost the federal government millions of dollars—while adding more legitimacy to gay marriages, despite all the states that have passed laws or state constitutional amendments to honor only one-man, one-woman marriages, and putting religious entities, such as Christian schools, in a forced position to hire those who are in “gay marriages.”
National Notes, April 2010