Massive School Choice Drive Planned

-By Israel Teitelbaum

Honorable Clergy, Principals and Concerned Parents:

It’s a great pleasure to forward the press release from the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education on the urgent issue of school vouchers, along with the “Become a Lobbyist” contest that invites everyone to join this effort. Parents and teachers may, of course, help.

Major national organizations and schools across the USA are joining a massive drive to promote The Civil Rights Act for Equal Educational Opportunity. This proposed national legislation would provide equitable educational funding for every child in both public and non-public school, while respecting the liberty of schools in hiring and provision of services.

Your help is crucial to having this legislation sponsored. According to Congressman Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, who championed the DC Vouchers, voters need to speak out, as was done in Washington DC. The way our democracy works is that the people express their needs to their elected officials, and their elected officials respond with legislation. As long as we remain silent, nothing happens.

This primary election season is an especially opportune time to make our voices heard, because the candidates are desperate for our votes. The “Become a Lobbyist” Contest calls upon everyone to call their favorite candidate, Congressman or Senator and ask them to sponsor The Civil Rights Act for Equal Educational Opportunity. The first to report the sponsorship of this legislation, with its bill number, is the winner! The real prize is: Every child in America will have choice in education, as we have in all matters of personal freedom!

Please pass this along to your students, parents and the entire community. In this way you will be of enormous help in having this legislation sponsored.

Thank you for your participation in this most urgent Matter.

Continued success and all the best.
Israel Teitelbaum
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Press Release
January 10, 2008

National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education
824 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11213

Contact: Israel Teitelbaum: 973-820-6121 or Israel@SchoolChoiceVoter.org

Massive School Choice Drive Planned

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 crisis 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; Maine 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 counselor or a coach and say that their statement of belief that they made 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 a 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, Americans 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.


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