CER to Lead New Multi-State Partnership for Parents CER Press Release, Washington, DC, November 18, 2003
Using a federal grant focused on helping parents to understand their rights under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the Parent Information Resource Center will support outreach to more than 200,000 parents in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina.

Nation's Report Card: 2003 Results Are Mixed CER Analysis, November 18, 2003
NAEP's 2003 report card is a mixed bag for American students. While some progress was made in math, reading scores remained flat, the achievement gap persists, and the proficient rate of students in these basic skills still falls short of 50 percent.

Charter Schools' Successful Records Speak for Themselves CER Press Release, Washington, DC, November 14, 2003
The Center for Education Reform released A Record of Success documenting charter school success in 24 states that offer data. Charter schools continue to outpace non-charter public schools in student achievement, despite fewer resources and mounting obstacles.

GAO Report on Privately Managed Schools is Limited in Scope and Findings CER Analysis, November 5, 2003
The key underlying principle continues to be that school choice promotes competition, which is beneficial to all schools whether privately managed or traditionally funded. Competition raises the bar across the board and offers parents the freedom of choice when it comes to the educational future of their children.

Nation's Foremost Education Reformers Recognized for Contributions  CER Press Release, Washington, DC, October 29, 2003
The Center for Education Reform presents honorees with its "Best of Education Reform" awards at a gala dinner celebrating CER's 10th Anniversary.

CER Marks A Decade of Education Reform Advances at 10th Anniversary Celebrations CER Press Release, Washington, DC, October 27, 2003
On October 29th and 30th, the Center for Education Reform (CER) will celebrate its 10th Anniversary with two events showcasing the accomplishments of education reform over the last ten years and looking ahead at the next ten years.

Schools of Choice Invited to Perform in Washington, DC at CER's 10th Anniversary Gala CER Press Release, October 24, 2003
CER's "Be True to Your School" contest winners from Autism Academy of Learning, Maumee, OH, and KIPP Academy, Bronx, NY will perform at CER's 10th Anniversary Gala Celebration.

Nine Years Of Research Confirms Charter Schools' Success: CER Updates Summary Of Research on Charter Schools CER Press Release, Washington, DC, September 17, 2003
What the research reveals is: charter schools work. Major studies consistently show that charters enrich the educational scene and offer excellent educational opportunities for thousands of children in hundreds of communities.

Expanded School Choice for D.C. Children Closer After House Vote: Davis Amendment Passes in Close Vote With Support from Both Sides
CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., September 6, 2003
Bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives brings the promise of better educational opportunities closer to reality for District of Columbia families.

2003 PDK/Gallup Poll: Another Year, Another Skewed Phi Delta Kappa Poll CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., August 20, 2003
It's that time again -- the release of the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll. Not surprisingly, its results need further probing to discover what they really say about public opinion on education.

$10 Million for D.C. Choice Approved By House Committee As NAEP Shows District Failing CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., July 16, 2003
As achievement in the District continues to lag, city and Congressional leaders have joined together to support the development of expanded public and private options for children.

Harvard Charter Study Misleads: Demographic Comparisons and Conclusions Miss the Mark CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., July 11, 2003
Another misleading report has been issued concerning charter schools, this one from the Harvard University Civil Rights Project. Its comparisons and conclusions about charter school demographics miss the mark.

President Advocates for School Choices in the Nation's Capital: If Parents Don't Have Options Besides Public Schools, There Is No Accountability. CER Press Release, Washington D.C., July 1, 2003
The President announced that he will request from Congress support for a $75 million choice incentive fund to fuel private school choice in the District of Columbia and help determine if it will make a difference.

 Dismantling Philadelphia Reforms? By Jeanne Allen, CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., May 28, 2003
Last year, the Philadelphia School District contracted with several management groups to revitalize Philadelphia's poorest performing schools. Less than a year later the new Schools Chief wants to change the terms of the deal, threatening to scuttle reforms and further destabilize the schools.

National Charter School Week: National and Local Activities CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., April 24, 2003
It has been more than 10 years since the first charter school opened its doors. Charter schools, their successes, and their contributions to children, families and communities will be celebrated this year from April 28-May 2, 2003.

Congressional Co-Chairs for Salute to Charter Schools Announced: Delegation to Lead National Observance CER Press Release, Washington D.C., April 18, 2003
The Center for Education Reform (CER) announced today that eight Congressional leaders have agreed to serve as honorary-co-chairs of the Congressional Salute to Charter Schools in conjunction with the fourth annual National Charter Schools Week.

 Supreme Court Urged to Consider Case Fortifying Families' Rights to Educational Options: CER Joins in Filing Friend Of the Court Brief to High Court CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., April 18, 2003
The Center for Education Reform has joined an amicus (friend of the Court) brief submitted to the US Supreme Court by the Institute for Justice (IJ) concerning educational options. The brief requests that the High Court accept a case challenging the constitutionality of the Blaine Amendment, a provision in Washington state law that allows for discrimination against use of public funds at schools that are religiously affiliated.

Charter Report Flawed: California Research Group Offers Baseless Criticism CER Press Release, Washington ,D.C., April 7, 2003
A new charter report released by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) offers a distorted view of charter schools that focuses on inputs and completely ignores the documented charter achievement gains that render those inputs meaningless.

New Internet Initiative Announced: Grassroots Action Center Will Connect More People With Policymakers on Education Reform CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., April 1, 2003
To facilitate more grassroots-level communication with policymakers at the local, state and national levels, the Center for Education Reform today announced a new internet-based initiative to give people more direct access to their elected officials on matters related to education reform initiatives proposed at any given time.

Improvement Needed: Statement Of CER President Jeanne Allen Regarding the Viability Of the Maryland Charter School Bill By Jeanne Allen, CER Press Release, Washington, DC, March 25, 2003
As of today, both houses of the Maryland General Assembly have approved legislation that would give Maryland a charter school law, but unfortunately, would prevent any significant number of real quality choices in educationbeing offered to children or to teachers seeking new opportunities.

CER Grades States' Charter School Laws: Arizona and Washington, DC Get Blue Ribbon for Best State Laws; President's Home State Proves No Legislation Is Better than Poor Legislation CER Press Release, Washington, DC, March 17, 2003
The Center for Education Reform (CER) has published a new ranking of state charter school legislation based on 10 criteria to establish what is strong legislationfor the charter school movement versus weak legislation.

CER Releases 8^th National Charter School Directory CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., January 21, 2003
The Directoryprofiles the 2,695 charter schools that are operating for the 2002-2003 school year, serving 684,495 students in 36 states and Washington, D.C.

Latest Charter School Laws Scorecard Released  CER Press Release, Washington D.C., January 14, 2003
The Center for Education Reform (CER) today released its semi-annual ranking and profile of the nation's 40 charter school laws, which will be useful to new policy makers seeking to enact or modify laws.

Statement By CER President Jeanne Allen on the One Year Anniversary of The No Child Left Behind Act CER Press Release, Washington, D.C., January 7, 2003
A year ago landmark education legislation was signed making it possible for students in chronically failing schools to attend schools that work….For the first time in the history of federal education support, the issues of quality and accountability overcame Washington's previous fixation on resources only.

CER Press Release

SUPREME COURT URGED TO CONSIDER CASE FORTIFYING FAMILIES' RIGHTS TO EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS
CER Joins in Filing Friend of the Court Brief to High Court

(Washington, D.C., April 18, 2003) The Center for Education Reform has joined an amicus (friend of the Court) brief submitted to the US Supreme Court by the Institute for Justice (IJ) concerning educational options. The brief requests the High Court accept a case challenging the constitutionality of the Blaine Amendment, a provision in Washington state law, that allows for discrimination against use of public funds at schools that are religiously affiliated. There are 37 such laws on the books, which date back to 19th century prejudices against Catholics, in particular.

        The case started when Joshua Davey was awarded a scholarship to Northwest College, but was denied it when he chose pastoral ministries (i.e. theology) as his major. The funds that he was denied are available to all other students regardless of the schools they attend. The case was taken to the state Supreme Court which denied his petition, but was overturned by the 9th Circuit. Now the State, in Locke v. Davey, is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the earlier decision. The amicus brief, filed on April 10th, asks the Court to accept and rule against the discrimination that is enforced by the Blaine Amendment.

        This case has implications for school choice, because the Blaine Amendments are viewed state by state as the biggest impediment to allowing families to make choices other than public schools. This is the first case of its kind to reach the High Court since the 2002 ruling in favor of the Cleveland, Ohio school choice case. If the Court accepts the case and would rule in favor, states such as Massachusetts who have groups challenging their statutes would be more likely to have success in ensuring equality of choices among all families under a school choice program.

        "It is absolutely essential that the Blaine Amendments be thrown out of American public law for what they are - bigoted, hateful and harmful to our nation's children and their opportunities, in particular," says CER president Jeanne Allen. "We are delighted to join with our colleagues at IJ in this endeavor and we will pursue this case in the court of public opinion as well."

• See also CER Newswire April 15, 2003.
• Click here to view the amicus. 
• For background on CER's school choice advocacy, go to our page About School Choice.

The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization providing support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For more information contact CER at 202-822-9000.

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