• In a statewide comparison, schools in the Racine and Wisconsin choice program score 6 points higher on the ACT composite score than traditional public schools.


The study can be found at http://bit.ly/2lre5Ff. Setting the Record Straight


on School Choice The Credible Research Shows Progress for Kids Reprinted from American Federation for Children


Recent columns in the news media, including ones in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, are using self- selected data points to suggest that private school choice programs do not work for children. This assertion, while it makes a nice headline and feeds a false narrative the education establishment is working overtime to create, bears no resemblance to the actual evidence.


It’s time to set the record straight.


There have been 15 gold standard empirical studies of private school choice and academic outcomes: 10 are positive, 3 are neutral, and 2 are negative—only based upon on results in early years of those two studies.


At Issue Statement of Final Authority for Matters of Faith


and Conduct Last year, ACSI amended its Statement of Faith and added a “Statement of Final Authority for Matters of Faith and Conduct” to the end. This came as a recommendation from the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Protecting Your Ministry handbook, cobranded by ACSI. The following is taken from that handbook. Member schools can obtain an electronic copy of the Protecting Your Ministry handbook on the ACSI website under Legal Resources. Thank you to Alliance Defending Freedom for working with ACSI to cobrand this handbook for our member schools.


Reprint from Protecting Your Ministry


It is impossible to anticipate every doctrinal dispute that a church, Christian school, or Christian ministry might encounter. New disputes arise regularly, and it is impor- tant that Christian organizations be able to respond in a legally defensible way to these issues.


For example, decades or even centuries ago, when many of the existing Church creeds and statements of faith were written, no one contemplated marriage was anything but the union of a man and a woman. No one could foresee that many would not only advocate for marriage redefinition, but also demand that churches host same-sex ceremonies. Consequently, few Christian organizations were prepared when the current cultural war about marriage broke out.


© 2017 by the Association of Christian Schools International


Each Christian organization should have a statement that clearly identifies (1) the source of religious author- ity for matters of faith and conduct, and (2) the final human interpreter of that source for the organization. Such a statement should provide a “catch-all” to cover unforeseeable threats that might arise in the future.


A statement of authority for matters of faith and con- duct clearly denotes that authority resides in a desig- nated individual or group (e.g. minister, bishop, elder board, executive committee, or board of directors) who is authorized to state the organization’s beliefs and prac- tices on any disputed issue.


The general legal rule is that courts should not question this position.1


27.3 | 55


By comparison, only 40% of fourth grade public school children are proficient in math and 36% of fourth grade public school children are proficient in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/.


Today, there are approximately 3.5 million children enrolled in charter schools or one of the 50 private school choice programs in 25 states and Washington, D.C. There’s a reason that tens of thousands of families are on waiting lists or have to participate in lotteries to get into a school of choice. Parents have made it crystal clear to lawmakers that they want educational choice and they don’t want it limited to public school choice. Likely voters have made their opinions clear in polling—68% support school choice, and those percentages are even higher among African-American (72%), Hispanic (75%), and Millennial (75%) voters. http://www. federationforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ AFC-Beck-National-Survey-Results-1-10-17.pdf


School choice works. It works based on the research, and it works according to the 3.5 million children currently benefitting and the undeniable demand of millions of additional parents who want to choose the best school for their children.


Find a summary on school choice research here: http:// bit.ly/2lDX23K.


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