-By Israel Teitelbaum
Community leaders and school principals came together on Tuesday, January 8, at the headquarters of the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE) to address the current crises in education. After hearing from a cross section of community activists, it was decided to organize a massive “phone-in” to the leading presidential candidates urging them to support The Civil Rights Act for Equal Educational Opportunity. This proposed legislation would provide equitable educational funding for children in both public and non-public schools, while respecting the liberty of schools in hiring and provision of services.
Phone calls are scheduled to be placed on January 23 and 24, shortly prior to major primary elections across the United States. Florida will hold theirs on January 29; Main on February 1; and on February 5 primaries will be held in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.
Rabbi Shea Hecht, Chairman of the Board of NCFJE, opened the meeting by pointing out that despite the fact that passage of this legislation appears to be politically impossible to achieve, we need to do all that we can, and have faith that our Creator will do the rest. He pointed out, “In study after study, wherever school choice has been tried, it was of great benefit to all; the children benefited, the parents benefited and so did the private and public schools…Although the challenge is great, school choice has the support of many people, and we need to make the effort.”
Denise Fox, of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, reported on the usurping of parental control by school officials. The law in Massachusetts now provides for the removal of children from their home when the values taught at home conflict with school policy. “A child can go to their teacher, a guidance councilor or a coach and say that their statement to their parents has not been warmly received. The school board then says that the child can be removed from the home.”
Larry Cirignano, of CatholicVote.org, a long-time activist on behalf of family values, reported on his trial on trumped up charges of assault, for preventing an ACLU activist from disrupting an pro-marriage rally in Worcester, Massachusetts. After a week long trial Cirignano was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. “We need to fight back and reclaim the right of parents to raise their own children.”
Bob Schundler, brother of school choice leader and former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, spoke of the founding of the United States and how the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution placed great stress on individual liberty. “How is it liberty when the government does not allow you to raise your own children? And how is it ‘pursuit of happiness,’ when children are not graduating high school?” He is leading the national effort for legislation that would require school choice in all 50 states.
Maurice Hedaya, of the Sephardic Voters League, long-time activist on behalf of the downtrodden, is reaching out to all segments of the community to support this effort. “We need to form alliances with leaders in minority communities, who are desperately in need of improved educational opportunities,” he said.
Rabbi Sholem Ber Hecht, Chairman of the Executive Committee of NCFJE, called upon religious leaders, school principals and concerned parents to reach out to their constituencies and call the presidential candidates, urging sponsorship of school choice legislation.
Additional organizations supporting The Civil Rights Act for Equal Educational Opportunity, include Torah Communications, American for Tax Reform, Center for Equal Opportunity, Family Research Council and Parents for Free Choice in Education.
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Israel Teitelbaum is currently creating a new school choice organization to help further the efforts to improve our public schools. His blog will soon be up and running at SchoolChoiceVoter.org. Mr. Teitelbaum can be reached at israel@schoolchoicenj.org.