Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Policy Advice for Betsy DeVos from a REAL Policy Analyst

The Nashville City Paper featured a front-page story (“Metro School District
begins revamp of failing elementary, middle school,” May 21, 2007) that completely sugar-coated the situation in two metro middle schools that have fired (via involuntary transfer) the entire staff and faculty as a result of their failure to meet NCLB benchmarks.

For the last 5 weeks, I have been working as a substitute teacher at Jere Baxter Middle School and the experience has shaken me to the core.  Everything I used to believe about school finance reform has been turned upside down.

Jere Baxter is a Title I school with access to numerous resources including a math specialist on site full time, district mentors to advise and assist new teachers. They have mental health specialists come into several classrooms on
a weekly basis, and it is not uncommon to see caseworkers and prevention specialists from a variety of community agencies on campus.

However, despite the plethora of enhancement activities and access to resource materials, the majority of the 7th and 8th graders do not know simple math such as long division, subtraction (if they have to carry the one) or their times tables.  You could throw a million dollars into this school, and it would not make a bit of difference!

For the first two weeks, I was assigned to a self-contained classroom.  At one point, the Assistant Principal walked in, observed the children, and even acknowledged the small black and white television hidden in the teacher’s aide desk tuned in to the Young and the Restless.  She smiled and walked out.  Apparently, she did not have a problem with the children watching Tom & Jerry, Sponge Bob and BET music videos from 10 a.m. through dismissal.

A few days later, I gave a make-up assignment during the students “free time,” (lunch-time through dismissal) and I was told that my expectations were simply too high.  That class in particular lost 15 teachers this year alone—16 including myself.

The children are running the show at Baxter and they know it.  The faculty receives little, if any, support from the administration. As a result, the majority of the teachers have simply given up.
Dealing with disciplinary problems has become the primary focus in the classroom displacing teaching, learning, and cooperation.

The numerous behavioral disruptions that occur each and every day prompted the administrators to pull the most effective teachers out
of the classroom to enforce (or re-enforce) school policy while
their classrooms remained empty or were covered by floating substitute teachers.

The children are completely out of control and simply refuse to do any work. I was told not to give any student a grade below 75--
even the one who threw his crumpled up science assignment in my face and walked out of class shouting profanities.

What the students have learned is that there will be no consequences for inappropriate behavior or actions.  The administration treats teachers with complete disrespect: in front of students, teachers, and guests, completely undermining any sense of autonomy, authority or cohesiveness. Even I was embarrassed for them, and I was only there for a few weeks!

This is a classic example of a top-down policy failure.  As a policy analyst, I always advocated for equity in education, and believed on some level that throwing money into poor schools (poor performance and achievement records to disadvantaged students) might help level the playing field for disadvantaged schools, translating into better outcomes for students and the community.

The City Paper glossed over the magnitude of this desperate situation by calling it a “fresh start.”  These teachers have been treated poorly enough by students and administrators, and now we have a number of young professionals who are underpaid, uncertain, and unemployed.

We all know that teacher pay is ridiculous to
begin with, but coupled with the added stress of the re-application process, Metro may lose a large number of educated, motivated, displaced educators to surrounding districts, counties, and states.

This is simply ridiculous.  By cleaning house, Baxter will lose the few experienced, dedicated teachers they have, prompt the younger
set to leave the profession all together, and discourage future teachers from applying for jobs in Metro.

Everything we know about the positive outcomes in neighborhood schools is their strong reliance upon community buy-in and parental involvement.  One thing that makes magnet, lottery, charter schools, parochial, and private schools so good is the fact that parents,
teachers, students, and administrators fight to get in, and fight to stay there.

The act of choosing, in effect, leads to an enhanced sense of community and builds a supportive, consistent, and structured environment.  Calling this decision a fresh start is ridiculous-- it would be more accurate to call it a very bad ending!

In this case, No Child Left Behind is, in effect, leaving No Teachers Left Behind.


--
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Department of Educational Policy
Columbia University, New York, NY




"You may not care how much I know, but you don't know how much I care.”

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Cyberwhore

Cyberwhore

Cyberwhore
by Elyssa Durant, voices.yahoo.com
May 21st 2008
Background / Introduction:
Shortly after I moved back to New York City to complete my graduate degree, I lost all of my personal, physical belongings in a household fire. What wasn’t destroyed was stolen shortly afterwards and I have very few things I created in along the way.
And though the memories surrounding this devastating loss are crystal clear in my head, my journals and my artwork are gone forever. Losing my journals, my books, my photo albums, and all of my school work was even worse than losing my home. I lost a piece of myself in the process. A piece that can never be replaced… If only I had the foresight to back up all of my work– scan in my photos, or find a safe deposit box I could afford, perhaps I could have finished my assignments on time and completed the last few credits necessary for my PhD.
I became obsessed with backing up data and making photocopies of any and every piece of my past I could find — just in case!
I was eventually diagnosed with OCD and a myriad of other related anxiety disorders. 
I wrote this letter to my therapist who helped me get through the most challenging time of my life. Not only did he belierve in my talent– he convinced to me to start writing again– even if my skills are a little rusty!
Thanks Dr. T!
-edd
GT:
“Hi Elyssa,
It’s nice to hear from you, I had just been thinking of you. Is there a reason why you sent me two copies?
Talk to you soon,”
___________________________________
EDD:
Now how can you call yourself a qualified therapist and ask me such a stupid question?
I have at two of everything!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Unemployment Identity Crisis in America

by Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M. © 2009-2016




After being rejected from a job that pays $18,000 / year at the women's prison, a job that pays $21,000 teaching Head Start, getting fired from Red Lobster (because apparently, I am just not Red Lobster "material" I decided to go to the Tennessee Career Center to take advantage of their high speed internet, free printer paper, and ink...

now would not be the best time to mention my senior thesis-- or my grad school major, or the fact that i spent the better part life as a volunteer and advocate for children at-risk.. working to give them hope and a second chance at life.

systematically invalidating such bogus, barnum-type feedback that one typically gets from a MBTI type of personality test that is given during high school or in college. i won't bother to mention the standardization of SAT scores to help our country feel better-- or the fact that the stanford-binet was created for military issue only.


who gives a shit anymore??? if you told a me a fat bearded lady at the circus could decide my fate and tell me what direction i should choose next-- i'd take it! and throw in a fat tip for being smart enough to know that any answer-- no matter how grim, is far better than just wandering aimlessly through life looking back on what might have been-- at THIRTY? at THIRTY-SIX???  How about 40? Or 45? Will I be 50 years old asking the same damn questions? 

after receiving five letters of rejection from jobs that require nothing more than a GED or a high school diploma, i decided to go to the tennessee career center hoping to find a job that will allow me to afford the most basic necessities of life. toothpaste, toilet paper, cat food... 

i got hooked up with a counselor that afternoon. he has two masters degrees-- one in educational career counseling, and a second in counseling psychology. could this be the guidance counselor i have been asking for since.. well... since... i was old enough to know was in need of guidance?


surely someone else must have recognized i was in need of guidance, but god knows my parents weren't paying attention, and having good genes just doesn't cut it these days. but now more than ever, i realize that having all the smarts in the world won't get you anywhere if you never learned how to apply them.

i am the exact same five year old who needed to win the spelling bee. in college, i was the one to set the curve, not just make it. the one to break the rules, and, break them i did, but there is no glory in being second best, second smartest, second brightest, or second anything.


i wish i could say that after all this time i developed other ego strengths and finally felt okay with who i am, you know.... "just being me," but i am sad to report that my "condition" (diagnosis) was amazingly accurate and predictable. just like all the doctors said! i wonder if they derive joy out of being right-- if they crack open a bottle of aged liquor in my fathers office and say, "see, we told you so. we told you their was nothing you could do." and so nothing they did.


and by doing nothing, and i do mean nothing-- the illness will just take will its course. and i am now, in fact, nothing. nothing costs nothing (at least to them) and daddy made another fine investment. on the other hand, nothing has drained every hope, fear, security-- every chance-- and every last breath from my body. i might have believed in me. but i know i'm alive because a tear just rolled down the side of my cheek. i am home.


but i still haven't learned. for some reason with all of my failures i am reminded of in so many ways... me, myself, as i watch them play out every time i shut my eyes or open them. yes- blink.

sometimes i ask myself, how did i get here? how did this happen? what happened to all of the plans i made for myself? where did they go? where did I go? constantly replayed over and over and over again in my mind. i must be F---ING CRAZY!


but at this moment, here, even as i say the words, i am not truly insane, i am merely in pain. what a tragedy that those two words rhyme-- they ruin what could have been a very profound misnomer of the human condition and the labels we hold so dear.


i am the exact same 5 year old who needed to ACE the spelling bee, set the curve, not just make it; break the rules, and, break them i did. there is no glory in being second best. second smartest, second brightest, or second anything. being second sucks. it sucks every god-damned second of the day.


so my search for mediocrity continues and i wait for it each and every day hoping it will find me beaten and worn from the storm. all of the storms, but dammit, its still there. i still have questions those damn elyssa questions that made all my professors so proud, damn ideas, damn thoughts, damn hope.


my mother still calls me everyday to see if i went to get food stamps to feed myself, #EFF her, and her #EFF'n things. #EFF diamonds, couture, and #EFF that life. i was here mom, the whole #EFF'n time. just not pretty enough with out any surgery. not pretty at all, with all those damn scars.


i hope someone out there still loves me. i do actually believe that i deserve love and kindness despite the obvious fact that i am a royal pain in the ass. i refuse to work in burger king. for right now, at least.

so goodnight my dear friends. let's all try to have sweet dreams. pepe awaits, as does alanis, and a pack of smokes that i can already taste.


yes, what could have been, what should have been-- what MIGHT have been if you let me be
m.e.


"When written in chinese, the word Crisis is composed of tvo characters: One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."  -JFK

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Unemployment Crisis in America

Unemployment Crisis in America

May 4th 2009
After being rejected from a job that pays $18,000 / year at the women's prison, a job that pays $21,000 teaching Head Start, getting fired from Red Lobster (because apparently, I am just not Red Lobster "material" I decided to go to the Tennessee Career Center to take advantage of their high speed internet, free printer paper, and ink...

now would not be the best time to mention my senior thesis-- or my grad school major, or the fact that i spent the better part life as a volunteer and advocate for children at-risk.. working to give them hope and a second chance at life.

systematically invalidating such bogus, barnum-type feedback that one typically gets from a MBTI type of personality test that is given during high school or in college. i won't bother to mention the standardization of SAT scores to help our country feel better-- or the fact that the stanford-binet was created for military issue only.

who gives a shit anymore??? if you told a me a fat bearded lady at the circus could decide my fate and tell me what direction i should choose next-- i'd take it! and throw in a fat tip for being smart enough to know that any answer-- no matter how grim, is far better than just wandering aimlessly through life looking back on what might have been-- at THIRTY? at THIRTY-SIX???

after receiving five letters of rejection from jobs that require nothing more than a GED or a high school diploma, i decided to go to the tennessee career center hoping to find a job that will allow me to afford the most basic necessities of life. toothpaste, toilet paper, cat food... i got hooked up with a counselor that afternoon. he has two masters degrees-- one in educational career counseling, and a second in counseling psychology. could this be the guidance counselor i have been asking for since.. well... since... i was old enough to know was in need of guidance?

surely someone else must have recognized i was in need of guidance, but god knows my parents weren't paying attention, and having good genes just doesn't cut it these days. but now more than ever, i realize that having all the smarts in the world won't get you anywhere if you never learned how to apply them.

i am the exact same five year old who needed to win the spelling bee. in college, i was the one to set the curve, not just make it. the one to break the rules, and, break them i did, but there is no glory in being second best, second smartest, second brightest, or second anything.

i wish i could say that after all this time i developed other ego strengths and finally felt okay with who i am, you know.... "just being me," but i am sad to report that my "condition" (diagnosis) was amazingly accurate and predictable. just like all the doctors said! i wonder if they derive joy out of being right-- if they crack open a bottle of aged liquor in my fathers office and say, "see, we told you so. we told you their was nothing you could do." and so nothing they did.

and by doing nothing, and i do mean nothing-- the illness will just take will its course. and i am now, in fact, nothing. nothing costs nothing (at least to them) and daddy made another fine investment. on the other hand, nothing has drained every hope, fear, security-- every chance-- and every last breath from my body. i might have believed in me. but i know i'm alive because a tear just rolled down the side of my cheek. i am home.

but i still haven't learned. for some reason with all of my failures i am reminded of in so many ways... me, myself, as i watch them play out every time i shut my eyes or open them. yes- blink.

sometimes i ask myself, how did i get here? how did this happen? what happened to all of the plans i made for myself? where did they go? where did I go? constantly replayed over and over and over again in my mind. i must be F---ING CRAZY!

but at this moment, here, even as i say the words, i am not truly insane, i am merely in pain. what a tragedy that those two words rhyme-- they ruin what could have been a very profound misnomer of the human condition and the labels we hold so dear.

i am the exact same 5 year old who needed to ACE the spelling bee, set the curve, not just make it; break the rules, and, break them i did. there is no glory in being second best. second smartest, second brightest, or second anything. being second sucks. it sucks every god-damned second of the day.

and so my search for mediocrity continues and i wait for it each and every day hoping it will find me beaten and worn from the storm. all of the storms, but dammit, its still there. i still have questions those damn elyssa questions that made all my professors so proud, damn ideas, damn thoughts, damn hope.

my mother still calls me everyday to see if i went to get food stamps to feed myself, #EFF her, and her #EFF'n things. #EFF diamonds, couture, and #EFF that life. i was here mom, the whole #EFF'n time. just not pretty enough with out any surgery. not pretty at all, with all those damn scars.

i hope someone out there still loves me. i do actually believe that i deserve love and kindness despite the obvious fact that i am a royal pain in the ass. i refuse to work in burger king. for right now, at least.

so goodnight my dear friends. let's all try to have sweet dreams. pepe awaits, as does alanis, and a pack of smokes that i can already taste.

yes, what could have been, what should have been-- what MIGHT have been if you let me be

m.e.

"When written in chinese, the word Crisis is composed of tvo characters: One represents danger and the other represents opportunity." -JFK

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

In God We Trust? School Vouchers for Parochial School?


Elyssa D. Durant
Social Stratification 
Columbia University 









Guiding Questions


How can school vouchers reach a balance between serving the public interest and preserving. individual freedoms and rights?

What additional arguments can be presented for against the use of school vouchers for parochial schools?

How is the issue of school vouchers for sectarian institutions different or similar from issues surrounding prayer in school?

What are the common issues relevant to both Charter schools and voucher programs?

Since I have serious concerns regarding the long term outcomes of school choice and voucher programs, exacerbate the inequality between the rich and the poor. Since I believe that healthcare and education are both social goods, I have serious concerns about letting the free-market run amok during such a critical point in history.  I do not feel it is wise to allow for-profit market forces to dictate the any public good when natural rights are at stake.  The shortcomings of the Medicaid managed care programs, Medicare supplemental insurance policies, and demonstration projects such as the privatization of prisons provide sufficient evidence of the dangers of profit driven corporations in American culture. Corporate scandals with food and other suppliers contracted by the Board of Education in New York City provides an excellent example of how easy it is to manipulate funds away from the target recipients.

For example, private managed care companies offered gifts to boost enrollment by enticing desperate Medicaid recipients to join their plans.  I find this marketing strategy offensive when we are dealing with a social good albeit healthcare or education.  Vulnerable populations are frequently exploited through corporate contracts, and there is little reason to believe that for-profit conglomerates would treat public schools or economically disadvantaged students and families otherwise.

        Arguments on both sides of the school voucher issue are very similar to those presented for and against Charter Schools and free-market school choice.  Smrekar (1998) presents four key issues that have been at the center of the school choice debate:  (1) economic, (2) political; (3) social justice; and (4) pedagogical.

The economic argument in favor of school choice points out that our current public education system resembles a monopoly.  Proponents argue that the introduction of choice into the educational marketplace will promote competition and force schools with poor performance records to improve or close (Friedman, 1968).  

The political argument is centered on the democratic ideal that the freedom to choose where your child attends school is a fundamental right.  The political argument also triggers strong feelings about the role of education in a democratic society. 


 There are those who feel that the public school is intended, at least in part, to create a common set of core values that is best served by the public sector. At the core of the political school choice argument is a debate regarding the benefits of providing a common set of experiences in a democracy versus promoting individual choice and liberty (Smrekar, 1998).  This issue, while not dead, was challenged in 1925 when the Supreme Court ruled in Pierce v. Society of Sisters (268 U.S. 510 (1925)) in favor of parents who sent their children to private school.  This argument continues today and is at the center of both school choice and curriculum debates.  

 The social justice argument is a bit more complicated and there is little agreement on any front. Proponents argue that school choice empowers the poor to participate in the education of their children by giving them the same options available to wealthier families in the United States.  According to a 1997 poll in USA Today, 47% of parents would send their children to private schools if they had the financial resources (Doyle, 1997).

Information is an essential component to any school choice program.  In order to ensure social equity in school choice programs we need to be sure that the poor are fully informed of their choices and are not taken advantage of in the open market.  It is believed that the act of choosing has positive effects on the school environment and promotes parental involvement in their children’s education (Doyle, 1997).  Additional components of the social justice argument have focused on the nuts and bolts of choice programs, and point out how there are several different ways that choice programs may (wittingly or unwittingly) promote social inequity (Cookson, 1995).  Such arguments focus on transportation problems, admissions policies, the availability of information, and how we define “choice” and implement policies regulating recruitment, enrollment and performance of participating schools, (Cookson, 1995; 1997).  

        The pedagogical argument points out that school choice programs are better suited for the individual needs inherent to a pluralistic society.  Although some feel there is value in providing core curriculum and a common set of basic skills, there is a current trend towards specialty schools that focus on the arts and sciences, technology, vocational training, etc.  Educators look towards successful magnet schools as examples of the pedagogical success that demonstrated the importance of school choice and parental involvement as indicators of educational outcomes.  Some educators fear that the introduction of school choice and voucher plans would prompt the best students to leave public schools and that this would have a negative effect on the overall climate of public classrooms.
        
        There are several different types of voucher programs, but the one which raises the most questions are voucher programs that give qualified individuals the choice to attend parochial schools.  Traditional arguments against this type of school voucher program have focused on the Constitutionality of using state funds for sectarian institutions.

Historically, the church had a key role in the education of children in America.  During the National Period (1780-1830), churches were used to educate children, and the King James Bible was used as a reader in these classrooms (Smrekar, 1998).  Derek Neal (1997) points out that much of the current sentiment against Catholic schools is not a reflection of their excellent performance record, but rather an indication of the anti-Catholic sentiment which swept the country during the late part of the 19th Century (Neal, 1997).  Neal argues that until that point, there was no contest to religious education as long as it was Protestant.  

Catholic schools have traditionally served the children of the working class.  They were a major socializing force earlier in the century and continue to succeed with children who might otherwise fall through the cracks in public schools.  Despite tapering enrollment, Catholic schools remain a viable force in the private sector providing a reasonably priced private education to American children.  Neal conducted a study that looked at the graduation rates of minority children attending Catholic schools compared with children attending public schools in the inner cities.  Controlling for demographic variables, (parent’s education, parent’s occupation, family structure, and reading materials at home) closer analysis revealed graduation rates for urban minorities are 26% higher in Catholic schools compared with public schools in the same communities.  Although Neal found similar benefits for whites and in suburban communities, this effect was most profound for urban minorities.

Other studies have focused on identifying the qualities that make Catholic schools successful.  A number of factors have been identified by Bryk and Lee, including active parental participation and the benefits of school choice in creating an inclusive community which fosters a common set of values and ideals (Bryk & Lee, 1995).  Interestingly, the very same variables found to enhance the performance of Catholic school students are remarkably similar to the reported benefits of magnet schools and choice programs.  Despite the excellent performance records of Catholic schools, there are currently no voucher programs that allow parochial schools to participate in state funded voucher programs.  

The reason for this is quite simple, but not necessarily correct or in the best interest of our children.  The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the use of public funds in religious institutions.  However, it can also be argued that it is unconstitutional to exclude parochial schools from voucher systems because it violates the student’s free expression of religion.  In addition, voucher programs require a conscious decision on the part of the student and the parent.  The state does not enforce a blanket endorsement of any one religion.  I use Catholic schools as an example because they represent the majority of parochial schools in urban America.
 
Voucher programs typically undergo strict scrutiny for all four reasons mentioned above, but this issue is especially true of any choice or voucher program that channels funds into Parochial schools.  For this reason, Catholic schools and other schools with religious affiliations have been excluded from voucher plans up until this point.  It is not politically viable to institute a choice or voucher program at any level (at the district, state or national level) since similar plans have historically presented long-standing, hard-fought, legal challenges to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.  

Since the Supreme Court has not ruled on this issue, most challenges up until this point have taken place in state courts[1].  These state decisions have been split, and while there are a few voucher programs operating in Wisconsin and Ohio, neither permits sectarian schools to participate in their programs.  Milwaukee designed a voucher system that included parochial schools in 1995 but later revised their proposal after the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction against expansion into religious schools (Kremerer & King, 1995).

School choice programs that involve vouchers have not been tested in the Supreme Court, but there is a long history of court cases that challenge the flow of money from the public sector into private, sectarian institutions.  The recent pattern of Supreme Court rulings has lead some legal scholars (Kemerer & King, 1995) to conclude that school vouchers would pass constitutional muster under the following circumstances:

Provides payments in the form of scholarships to parents of school age children
Allows parents to choose among a variety of public and private sectarian and nonsectarian schools for their children
Gives no preference to sectarian private institutions


Voucher programs up until this point have encountered substantial resistance from the legal community and a number of civil rights and political organizations.  This becomes more pronounced when the voucher model includes sectarian institutions in the model plan and state court rulings have been inconsistent in decisions surrounding the constitutionality of voucher programs.

        The definitive case regarding school voucher programs is Lemon v. Kurtzman (403 U.S. 602 (1971)).  The Court’s ruling in Lemon was based on three components that came to be known as the “Lemon Test”.   The Lemon Test applies the following to any Constitutional challenge of the Establishment Clause:

The government action must have a secular purpose
The primary effect must neither advance, nor inhibit religion
It must not result in excessive governmental entanglement with religion


Since voucher programs do not generally provide support directly to the institution, individual freedom and choice remain intact.  Individual families are empowered by educational vouchers since they choose the school and religion appropriate for them.  Qualified schools are not determined by religious affiliation and all schools are required to adhere to state and federal regulations which increases accountability.  Similar issues came before the courts in Pierce v. Society of Sisters (268 U.S. 510 (1925)) as well, however Lemon v. Kurtzman (403 U.S. 602 (1971)) is considered to be both the landmark and test case currently before the courts.

The reason for this is quite simple, but not necessarily correct or in the best interest of our children.  The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the use of public funds in religious institutions.  However, it could also be argued that it is unconstitutional to exclude parochial schools from voucher systems because it violates the free expression of religion.  In addition, voucher programs require a conscious decision on the part of the student and the parent.  The state does not enforce a blanket endorsement of any one religion.  I use Catholic schools as an example because they represent the majority of parochial schools in urban America.
 
Teacher’s unions are resistant to bring in a new system that has the potential to upset their job status and security. It will likely be a number of years before we truly understand the effects of magnet schools and can evaluate the implementation of school choice programs that are already in place.  Because we are dealing with such an essential human, social good, it is my recommendation that we do not implement a large scale voucher program until issues of access and equity are resolved on other public fronts.  We must ensure real choices for the students and families who are not information savvy and may be limited in their ability to recognize the real value of their options. We must find a way to ensure the equitable distribution of resources so that education truly does will empower the poor.


        Is the time right to apply the Lemon Test to school vouchers?   You decide.







References


Cookson, P.W., Jr. (1994).  School choice: The struggle for the soul of American education.  New Haven: Yale University Press.

Cookson, P.W., Jr. (1995).   ERIC Digests: School Choice.

Doyle, D.P.  (1997). Vouchers for religious schools.  Public Interest, 127, 88-95.

Haynes, C.C. (1993).  Beyond the culture wars.  Educational Leadership, 51(4), 30-34.

Houston, P.D. (1993).  School vouchers: The latest California joke.  Phi Delta Kappan, 75(4), 61-64.
 
Kremerer, F.R. & King, K.L.  (1995).  Are school vouchers Constitutional?   Phi Delta Kappan, 77(1), 307-311.

Kremerer, F.R. (1995).  The Constitutionality of school vouchers.  West’s Education Law Reporter, 101 Ed. Law Rep. 17.

Kremerer, F.R. (1997).  State Constitutions and school vouchers.  West’s Education Law Reporter, 120 Ed. Law Rep. 1.

Neal, D.  (1997).  Measuring Catholic school performance. Public Interest, 127, 81-87.




Page 8 of 8

[1] Including a decision that was handed down this week regarding a choice plan in Ohio. (12/18/2000)