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Bringing at least a modicum of school choice and education freedom long has been a goal of reform minded people who realize that the government-run education monopoly is holding back academic achievement. This Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee has a chance to show its open mindedness and independence from the education establishment when it votes on HB 2314, patroned by Delegate Jimmie Massie’s (R-72, Henrico).

The bill establishes a tax credit for businesses donating to non-profit organizations providing scholarships to free and reduced lunch students (family of four earning less than $40,793 per year). Despite fierce opposition from the Virginia School Board Association and the Virginia Education Association, the bill passed the House of Delegates 54-45 this week.

The modesty of this bill is testimony to how tenacious and powerful the Educrat establishment is in Richmond. It will fight to the death anything that hints at cracking its monopoly or reforms it from within. This is no exaggeration. The Educrats even are resisting a bill to provide for more physical education (HB 1644), patroned by Delegate John O’Bannon (R-73, Henrico). (See Washington Post Virginia Politics Blog.)

On the heels of yesterday’s well-attended Family Foundation Day at the Capitol and rally focused on school choice, we think there is real momentum to pass HB 2314. It’s certainly well passed time, considering the state of public education in certain areas of the state and for certain families that are trapped with no option but to attend an inadequate public school.
 
Similar scholarship programs in Pennsylvania and Florida have been huge successes. Florida’s program is a prime example, where demand for a program started in 2001 has grown from $50 million to $88 million, providing scholarships for more than 33,000 low-income children.
 
The bill is designed to avoid the nefarious ”negative fiscal impact” to the state. In fact, the fiscal impact will be all positive. Florida’s program, for example, saved that state $36 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year alone, according to the Florida Office of Program Analysis and Government Accountability.
 
In Florida and elsewhere, thousands of children have been given opportunities for a better education through scholarships created because funding is available. Despite cries of “taking money from children” in public schools, the scholarship programs in other states have in no way negatively affected public schools. 
 
Unfortunately, the Senate Finance Committee has been very hostile to any legislation that provides education freedom to families. Last year, it killed a similar bill by a 9-6 vote — see committee members make outlandish and outrageous comments.
 
In two different polls conducted by, or on behalf of, The Family Foundation or other education freedom supporters over the past three years, large majorities of Virginians have indicated their support for tax credits like the one created in HB 2314.

Certain liberals like to say, “Conservatives want to take us back,” although they never specify where. Perhaps it’s more a case of liberals holding us back — or stuck in the past — with ideas no longer as effective as once were, and never moving forward with proven reforms.

Please contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and urge them to vote for HB 2314. We are close and only need to flip two votes.

The Family Foundation’s Annual Day at the Capitol is this Thursday, with an emphasis 0n education freedom — particularly legislation that provides tax credits for private school scholarships. We need to send a loud message to our legislators that, after years of dragging their feet while public education deteriorates (especially for the underprivileged who are trapped in failing schools by an education establishment unwilling to embrace reforms) and options and competition few, educational opportunity for all children is the right choice for Virginia.  
 
Registration for the event, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, begins at 8:30. The program begins at 9:00 with a briefing  from lawmakers and policy makers, includes a visit with your legislators, and ends with a rally on the Capitol Square grounds. Some of our special speakers include Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson and Family Foundation Chaplain, Bishop E. W. Jackson, Sr.
 
You will have an opportunity to meet with your legislators, get updates from The Family Foundation staff and enjoy optional tours of Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion and the Virginia Supreme Court during the afternoon. Tours are available on a first come, first serve basis the morning of the event, so if you are interested get to Richmond early.
 
While our format is a bit different this year, it will be an extremely exciting Lobby Day at the Capitol. Christian and private schools from across the Commonwealth will participate with us. If you are affiliated with a Christian or private school, please share this information with the school and fellow parents and students, and encourage them to send a delegation to support this effort.

If you would like more information about arranging at special tour for your school or about the event, please e-mail amanda@familyfoundation.org or call 804-343-0010. To register online, click here.

At a news conference this morning, Governor Bob McDonnell (see news release) announced his support for Delegate Jimmie Massie’s (R-72, Henrico) legislation that would create education freedom in Virginia by providing tax credits for corporate donations to scholarship programs for private school enrollment. This is an issue The Family Foundation has worked on for years — to provide education freedom to Virginia families (see post about data supporting school choice). 

Delegate Massie’s bill, HB 2314, is similar to programs that exist in several states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Florida. In those states, more than 100,000 students now have educational opportunities they would not otherwise have if they remained captive to failing public schools. Each of these programs began as small efforts but, once law, became extremely successful and were expanded by decisive bipartisan majorities.

At today’s news conference, a bill co-patron, Delegate Algie Howell (D-90, Norfolk), and a member of the Legislative Black Caucus who lived through the Civil Rights Era, gave us our Quote of the Day in support of the bill:

I supported school choice before school choice supported me.

That’s a reference to Virginia’s history of segregated schools and the accompanying disparity in education between white and black students during Massive Resistance. The bill targets low income families that face especially difficult educational issues in urban schools. Delegate Howell noted his personal experience: His two grandchildren left public school to attend Saint Patrick Catholic School in Norfolk. When his son-in-law was transferred to Indiana, the children enrolled in a public school and were tested. Their scores were so far above the school district’s norms, district officials wanted to meet them.

In an effort to raise awareness to and support among lawmakers, hundreds of Virginians and students are attending Family Foundation Day at the Capitol on Thursday, February 10 (click here to register or call 804-343-0010). A coalition of groups that day will sponsor a rally for education freedom in Capitol Square (and it wouldn’t hurt to contact your delegates and senators now to raise their awareness).

This legislation will help low-income children receive the best education possible. Providing education freedom for parents and children fulfils the Commonwealth’s promise to ensure a quality education for everyone, and noted the enormous importance of this transforming issue.

As we have noted repeatedly, momentum for education freedom is growing nationwide and in Virginia because parents and families want more opportunities. The cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all education model of the past century is inadequate for today’s society. Public policies must empower families to choose the best environment that meets their children’s specific needs. For some, that will be public schools; for others it will be a quality private school.

Delegate Tag Greason (R-32, Loudoun) also is a co-patron of HB 2314. Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg) is the patron of a similar Senate version (SB 1194).

With the 2010 elections over, Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas just around the corner, most people are giving politics a rest right now. Deservedly so. However, the General Assembly will go into session in early January and The Family Foundation is gearing up for another heated session. With issues such as wrongful death for the unborn, the federal repeal amendment, and a renewed emphasis on school choice, now is not the time for us to rest on our laurels. Our staff is busy preparing to stand in the gap in the upcoming session for the values that we hold dear.

With that in mind, please commit for one day — Thursday, February 10 — and attend our annual Family Foundation Day at the Capitol, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center (directions). This is a change from the last few years when our lobby day was on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This year we will focus on school choice and, in particular, a bill that Senator Mark Obenshein (R-26, Harrisonburg) and Delegate Jimmie Massie R-72, Henrico) will carry. The bill would provide tax credits for contributions to scholarship foundations that in turn sponsor children to attend the school of their choice.

We believe that competition in education and true education freedom are key components to the reforms our current education system needs. In addition to our normal Lobby Day at the Capitol activities, we will join with several other groups for a rally for school choice at the bell tower on the capitol grounds.

A similar bill by Delegate Massie passed the House of Delegates last year but died in the Senate Finance Committee (see how it went down). We need a strong show of support from people across Virginia to convince our senators that school choice is the right choice for Virginia.

So, we encourage you to mark your calendars for Thursday, February 10, and join us in Richmond. Registration for this free event is as easy as clicking right here.

Several private and Christian schools are participating with us in this effort. If you have children in a private or Christian school or have a relationship with one in your area, please forward this link with them. Also, you can e-mail us @ FamilyFoundation@familyfoundation.org and let us know of any schools in your area that might be interested in participating. We will be happy to follow up with them. For more information about the event, call Roger Pogge at 804-343-0010.

Sometimes we find things that our opposition says or does that are just too revealing not to expose to the public at large. For example, NARAL’s fascinating linguistic gymnastics. Now, an astounding admission from the NEA/VEA that confirms what we, and other education reformers, have said for years: That the VEA is about educators, not education.

Unlike how the VEA poses, it is not about anything resembling education, much less improving it. Quite simply, the VEA is a union. Not a think tank. Not a “for the children” organization. The VEA is a union and is about union membership. But don’t take our word for it. Here is an admission straight from the mouth of the NEA’s retiring chief counsel, in 2009:

And that brings me to my final, and most important point. Which is why, at least in my opinion, NEA and its affiliates are such effective advocates. Despite what some among us would like to believe, it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.

Pretty blatantly stated. But there it is: The NEA/VEA has one goal — the financial and professional betterment of its members, which in turn increases its power. If achievement of its goals requires advocacy for higher education standards or better classroom environments to achieve its union goal, it will pursue what it must. But don’t be fooled. Such advocacy is an inconvenient diversion to its accumulation of power and political goals.

To successfully dismantle the VEA’s power in Virginia politics, we must defund it and alternative teacher organizations hold the key. One such alternative is Virginia Professional Educators, a professional organization that offers better insurance policies and other benefits without supporting liberal causes and candidates (click here for more information). As long as teachers continue to send dues to the VEA, it will continue to hire its 30-plus lobbyists in Richmond every year where they then proceed to undermine school choice efforts, push for higher taxes and, incredibly, involve itself in issues that have nothing to do with public education, such as promoting abortion and homosexual marriage. (Improving education? What’s that?)

Self-assessments from our opposition are fascinating. Sometimes the honesty in their words is revealing. Take note of the deflated words delivered in an April 2010 speech by VEA President Kitty Boitnott:

This year, our [General Assembly] ‘wins’ are better measured by what we prevented from happening. … the VEA has lost members in significant numbers this year due to a whole host of reasons . . . along with the external challenges of having few friends in high places, we have also been suffering from an internal malaise of sorts in many of our very own local affiliates. … I do not believe that I overstate the case when I say that public education is under siege. It is being attacked at every corner, and there are those who would not only under fund public education . . . but they would dismantle public education in favor of alternative avenues. …

By its own admission, teachers are wising up and leaving the VEA and, in turn, the VEA is feeling the heat. No longer is it advancing its leftist agenda at the expense of hard working, well meaning teachers. Instead, it’s on the defensive. As we’ve said before, the VEA’s worst nightmare — education freedom — is coming to Virginia. It’s a matter of when, not if. The Family Foundation and our educational freedom allies are continuing to build a convincing case for school choice in Virginia. We will not relent until Virginia families are given the opportunity to freely choose the best educational option for their children.

There’s an old saying that, “New Jersey is a nice place to be from.” Despite its reputation and the brunt of numerous jokes, New Jersey soon may be the place for cutting edge education reform. At least from an education freedom viewpoint, our friends to the north are getting closer to bringing education freedom and choice to families than we are here in Virginia.

Earlier this month, the New Jersey Senate advanced a bill similar to legislation The Family Foundation advocates for here in Virginia that creates a tax credit for donations made to private scholarship foundations. The foundations then can give scholarships to students that meet certain eligibility criteria so that they can attend a school of their choice. Unflattering, and deceptively called a “voucher” by opponents and the mainstream media, these scholarship programs have seen great success in several places, from Florida to Pennsylvania.

The fact that New Jersey is attempting to join the growing list of states that offer this education freedom while Virginia continues to stall shows just how quickly we are falling behind more modern education movements in other states. The legislation in New Jersey faced the opposition of the powerful New Jersey Education Association (sister to our own anti-reform, left-wing Virginia Education Association). But through the leadership of Governor Chris Christie and several Democrat legislators, including a key committee chairman, the bill is advancing — complete with the drama of the Senate committee moving its meeting outside the capitol so that thousands of school choice advocates holding a rally could hear the debate.

Opposition to education reform, such as scholarship programs, continue to be stuck in the past. African-American leaders and legislators all over the country are beginning to reject the typical accusations that these tax credits will “drain money from public schools” or reestablish segregation. Even the Newark Star-Ledger, which has one of the most liberal editorial boards in the nation, has endorsed the tax credit bill.

In fact, the bill introduced by Delegate Jimmie Massie (R-72, Henrico) during this year’s legislative session would have saved the state and local governments money while reducing class sizes (children leaving for private schools), thereby improving teacher-student ratios, something the education establishment claims it wants. Far from hurting low-income families in urban areas, the private-aid scholarship program the bill would establish would provide them a way out of failing schools that are not meeting their needs nor preparing them to be able to compete in a global economy.

Momentum for school choice is growing. Successful programs in Florida, Arizona and other states are improving education outcomes for many children, despite efforts to block them. In the Arizona case, the U.S. Supreme Court will review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision declaring education freedom is unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit is the most overturned appeals court in the nation and is infamous for its overtly radical decisions. Stay tuned. There will be a lot of action in on this important matter in New Jersey, Arizona and even here in Virginia.

Earlier in the week we vividly showed how the obstinate the  education reform is to education reform, freedom and choice (see here). Also last week, in a much less publicized action, the Senate killed a modest bill, HB 76 — watered down from its original incarnation thanks to the educrat establishment, which amends, amends then kills then stomps the remains to death — patroned by Delegate Dickie Bell (R-20, Staunton), a public school teacher. The vote in the Senate Education and Health Committee was 14-1, but its fate was sealed last week when an Ed and Health sub-committee voted 4-1 not to recommend it.

The bill, had it become law, would begin the process of moving Virginia’s government-run schools toward spending 65 percent of their budgets in the classroom and to pare down central office administrative waste. However, sub-committee members Mamie Locke (D-2, Hampton) and Janet Howell (D-32, Fairfax) and every educrat organization in Virginia, such as the VEA and the Virginia School Boards Association, lambasted the bill as “undermining public education,” despite the fact it would improve education by putting more money into instruction, as several states have with great success — and waste less on administrative overhead and bureaucracy. Only Senator Frank Ruff (R-15, Clarksville) spoke in favor of the bill and made a motion to save it, but could not get the necessary second, even from fellow Republican, and sub-committee chairman, Senator Harry Blevins (R-14, Chesapeake), who is the chair by a quirk in Senate rules. Senator Ruff was the only dissenting vote in the full committee, as well.

Liberals like to call conservatives and negative, lacking in creativity and vision, always saying “no.” We ask, when are liberals going to stop reflexively saying no to reform and what are their suggestions (except more money for the status quo)? Do they really think the current education system is working as is?

In a fire-charged day in Senate Finance (see Part 3), a day of which we have barely scratched the surface, there were many memorable quotes. However, we have chosen Senator Walter Stosch (R-12, Henrico), whose pithiness underlined a severe truth during the debate on education freedom in Virginia. Responding to committee statists, who want to preserve the failing government-run school system and block, at all costs, competition and access to better schools for lower-income families by claiming the privately funded scholarship bill was a backdoor voucher program, Senator Stosch said the statements were nothing more than . . .

inappropriate arguments because they don’t make sense any more so than a tax credit for a “green job” is a voucher. …

Ouch! That had to hit committee statists right, smack in between their liberal sensibilities.

I’ve been working for The Family Foundation for over a decade and thought I’d seen it all, but this morning’s display by several members of the Senate Finance Committee while debating a school choice bill went far beyond anything I’ve ever seen.

Delegate Jimmie Massie (R-78, Henrico) presented HB 599, a bill that would provide a tax credit for donations to private school scholarship programs. After several organizations, including The Family Foundation, the Virginia Catholic Conference, a private schools association and a Richmond Jewish school, spoke in support of the bill, the committee took over. From there, the normal decorum of the Senate vanished into a cloud of pure anger.

The hostility of several Democrat members of the Finance Committee to parents and education freedom went on full display. I cannot with words adequately describe what then took place. But you don’t have to take my word for it — we have the entire shameful sequence on video (see our YouTube channel as well)! Here is the entire committee hearing in its entirety:

Part 1, Delegate Massie’s Presentation:

Common sense stuff from Delegate Massie and a host of expert witnesses.

Part 2,  Supporting Statements Continue:

An eloquent, passionate, personal and intellectual presentation by Chesapeake resident Alberta Wilson.

Part 3, Finance Staff — No Fiscal Impact And The Outrage Begins:

Senator Howell should know the answer before she calls the witness!

Part 4, More Race Cards, Conclusion and Vote:

Senator Miller: This bill is akin to “selling people” but she’d still vote for it once public schools are fully funded!

In addition to all of this, Senator Henry Marsh (D-16, Richmond) criticized the bill without reading it: He accused the bill of subsidizing parents who send their children to private schools, but the bill plainly states the student must currently be enrolled in public schools to be eligible for the scholarships! I urge you to take the time to watch these short videos. I know you will be as dismayed as I was sitting there watching.

In a nutshell, opponents to the bill implied over and over that efforts to provide education freedom for low and moderate-income families is racially motivated. Without actually making the claim it was clear what they were saying. The harsh tone and rhetoric on display was simply appalling. Perhaps most disappointing is the fact that the children who are suffering most from poor government schools are African-American children in urban areas. It is private schools in those areas that offer true hope for children who otherwise have little chance at success. In fact, one of the most compelling testimonies in favor of the bill came from an African-American woman, Alberta Wilson, a champion of school choice!

Question: Do Senators Colgan, Reynolds and Houck, who also voted to kill the bill, agree with their Democrat colleagues’ assessment that school choice is essentially racist?

After watching the videos, ask them yourselves:

Senator Charles Colgan: district29@senate.virginia.gov, (804) 698-7529

Senator Roscoe Reynolds: district20@senate.virginia.gov, (804) 698-7520

Senator Edd Houck: district17@senate.virginia.gov, (804) 698-7517

This morning’s antics are emblematic of the philosophical divide between the political class in Richmond and families. But the anger displayed also is indicative that these legislators are beginning to feel the heat! Just two years ago, school choice bills didn’t even register a procedural motion in Senate Finance. Today, they generate heated responses.

I’ll say it again as I’ve said before — school choice is coming to Virginia! It might not be this year, it might not be next year, but it is coming. Families are demanding it. Watch the video so that you can see exactly whom it is that stands in the way of freedom.

You might not hear much about this in the Mainstream Media, although the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot mentions it toward the end of this article. But that’s why we and the New Media are here. And, we’d love to hear from you, too. Let us know what your impressions of the committee hearing are.