At “Fulfilling the Promise,” hosted by School Choice Ohio
and sponsored by a broad coalition of supporters (including the American
Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice), more than 650 advocates, supporters, scholarship
recipients, parents, and legislators came to celebrate the victory 10 years agoand the imminent victories for the families of Cleveland.
At the event, our own Kevin P. Chavous spoke
on this landmark decision and its impact on the larger impact it had on the school choice
movement. In 1995, when the Cleveland
Program was enacted, there was only one other private school choice program--the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.
Thanks in part to vouchers being upheld by the Supreme Court
in 2002 and scholarship tax credit programs being upheld by the high court last year, states
have enacted private school choice programs in significant numbers around the nation. In 2012 alone, Louisiana expanded the New Orleans voucher program statewide, Florida expanded its flagship scholarship tax credit program, and Arizona expanded the nation's oldest scholarship tax credit programs as well as its first-of-its-kind Educational Savings Account program. And Virginia, Louisiana, and Mississippi have
created new private school choice programs, bringing the total private school
choice programs to 30 programs across 15 states and the District of Columbia.
“Fulfilling the Promise” also focused on the students and
families empowered by Ohio’s private school choice programs. We heard from Walter Woodard, an EdChoice
Scholarship recipient and A’Bria Robinson, a Cleveland Scholarship
recipient. The event also featured Tumpa
Lewis and Tera Myers, parents whose children receive scholarships thanks to the
state’s two private school choice programs for students with special needs.
