December 2004 School Reform News

The December issue of School Reform News features an exclusive interview with Mae and Martin Duggan, who founded Citizens for Educational Freedom (CEF)--the first organization established to promote educational freedom in the United States--45 years ago in an effort to achieve "a fair share for every child." Explains Mae Duggan, "It is a violation of distributive justice to discriminate against one eligible recipient by favoring another. But that is exactly what the education system does today: Everyone pays in, but one small group of children--those in private schools--is discriminated against because the benefits are made available only to children in public schools."

On page 1:

• An Abell Foundation study finds special education students in Baltimore public schools achieve poorly because of "deeply embedded [school system] practices" that are both "unlawful and inept."

• Policy and political analysts expect President George W. Bush to use his second term to extend NCLB accountability to high schools and restore private school vouchers as a transfer option.

• A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development finds other industrialized countries are beginning to catch up with the U.S. on such measures as high school completion rates.

• A recent Cato Institute Policy Forum on "Creating a True Marketplace in Education" highlights the importance of parental choice, child-centered funding, and equal treatment for all students regardless of which type of school they attend.

Also in this issue: "Robin Hood" property taxes in Texas; a tuition tax credit proposal in Utah; excluding religious schools from Maine choice programs; interactive school report cards in Illinois; the "mad, mad world" of textbook adoption; sports as education; and more.