U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman
_______________________________________
www.house.gov/judiciary
News Advisory
For immediate release
Contact: Jeff Lungren/Terry Shawn
September 16, 2002
202-225-2492
Chabot Subcommittee Hearing Tuesday on School Choice Programs in Light of Supreme Court’s Decision
What: Oversight Hearing on the Supreme Court’s School Choice Decision and Congress’ Authority to Enact Choice Programs
Who: Subcommittee on the Constitution - Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), Chairman
When: 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Where: 2237 Rayburn Building
On June 27, 2002, the United States Supreme Court upheld’s Ohio’s school choice program, finding, “[T]he Ohio program is entirely neutral with respect to religion....In keeping with an unbroken line of decisions rejecting challenges to similar programs, we hold that the program does not offend the Establishment Clause.”
Problems...
A crisis in public education exists in many school districts across the country, particularly among the poor in large cities. School districts and States, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Arizona, Florida, and Vermont, have implemented school choice plans to improve the educational opportunities for these families trapped in low-performing schools.
This Hearing Will...
Examine the constitutional boundaries for school choice programs, given the June decision by the Supreme Court.
WITNESSES: Prof. Douglas Laycock, University of Texas Law School; Mr. Richard Komer, Institute for Justice; Ms. Cleaster Whitehurst-Mims, Head of Marva Collins School, Cincinnati; and Rev. Timothy McDonald III, Pastor, First Iconium Baptist Church, Atlanta.
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