The Alliance for School Choice is the largest organization in the United States promoting

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools. The most common in the United States, by both the number of programs and by the number of participating students are scho ...

programs. The Alliance for School choice supports the creation and expansion of

school voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

, corporate tax credit, and other school choice programs. The organization is headquartered in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, is designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and receives its funding through private individual and foundation donations.

History

The Alliance for School Choice was launched on May 17, 2004, the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

, with headquarters in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. The formation of the Alliance for School Choice represented the merger of three organizations: the American Education Reform Council, Children First America, and the American Education Reform Foundation.

Clint Bolick Clint Bolick (born December 26, 1957) is a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Previously, he served as Vice President of Litigation at the conservative/libertarian Goldwater Institute. He co-founded the libertarian Institute for Justice, whe ...

, who was part of the legal team that argued the

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris ''Zelman v. Simmons-Harris'', 536 U.S. 639 (2002), was a 5–4 decision of the United States Supreme Court that upheld an Ohio program that used school vouchers. The Court decided that the program did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Fi ...

school voucher case before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, was appointed as the Alliance's first president in 2004. Bolick resigned his position at the Alliance in 2007 to take a new post at the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

-based Goldwater Institute. On January 16, 2007, the Alliance's board of directors announced the appointment of Charles R. Hokanson, Jr., a former official at the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

, as the organization's new president. Hokanson became president of the organization in April 2007 and the organization subsequently moved its headquarters to

. In November 2008, Hokanson left the organization and was replaced by the organization's chief of staff, John Schilling, who serves as interim president.

Activities

The Alliance shares offices, staff and resources with Advocates for School Choice, which is a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...

organization that promotes the benefits of school choice programs. Alliance activities include assisting affiliate organizations in states, hosting informational events, working with parent activists and community leaders to enact and implement state programs, and publishing two magazines, the ''School Choice Digest'' and the ''Activist.'' The Alliance has also engaged in litigation efforts on behalf of parents. In October 2008, the Alliance announced the development of a new campaign designed to recruit 10,000 supporters of school choice. Individuals who registered on their site received free bumper stickers and magazine subscriptions. www.letparentschoose.org

References

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External links

Alliance for School Choice

Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops sta ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

) Education policy organizations in the United States Organizations established in 2004 Educational charities based in the United States Charities based in Washington, D.C. 2004 establishments in the United States Charter schools

History

Activities

See also

References

External links