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May 15, 2008Special Interest Groups 'Win' Case to Pull Kids with Special Needs, Foster Students Out of Better Schools; Outraged Parent Advocates Vow to Fight On |
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From PR Newswire: The Alliance for School Choice tonight strongly condemned today's decision by an Arizona appellate court to overturn Arizona's school choice programs for foster children and students with special needs. Unless the programs are upheld on appeal, hundreds of children will be physically removed from their schools. Alliance President Charles Hokanson tonight announced the organization's full support for an appeal of the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court, which will be handled by the national Institute for Justice (IJ), the legal arm of the school choice movement. The decision -- based on a lawsuit brought about by the Arizona Education Association (AEA) union, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the People for the American Way (PFAW) -- was poorly formulated, according to a release by IJ, which plans to fight to keep the programs operational until a state-level appeal is heard. The lawsuits targeted Arizona's Scholarship for Pupils with Disabilities, which provides vouchers for 158 students to attend 52 schools this year, with an average scholarship amount of $9,478. "These programs absolutely must continue operating during the appeals process," Hokanson said. "It is unfair, unjust, and unconscionable to pull hundreds of disadvantaged children out of the high-quality schools they love." "Tonight marks a new low for the AEA, PFAW, and the ACLU," Hokanson added. "If they're at all celebrating this decision tonight, then they should be truly ashamed. Politics should never be played when it comes to the education and well-being of children -- let alone children with special needs and students in foster homes."
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