Blaine Amendment has denied millions their Constitutional Rights
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PRESS ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2019
CONTACT: PR Department
pr@edreform.com
(703) 966-0831
Amicus Brief Filed in Most Important Education Case in Decades
Blaine Amendment has denied millions their Constitutional Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to consider the most important education case in decades, organizations representing parents, educators, successful schools and policymakers have joined in filing an Amicus Brief to the High Court in the case Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The case centers on the constitutionality of Montana’s Blaine Amendment and its application to deny parents the ability to direct the education of their children. The Blaine Amendment, enacted in a majority of states following its 1875 conception, is the reason many states say they cannot permit the flow of tax dollars allocated for education to religiously affiliated schools, even if parents need and prefer those options to their traditional public school.
Calling the use of Blaine Amendments to deny parents the option to send their children to schools best suited for their needs the “tyranny of zip code,” the amicus argues first that “denying parents the ability to exercise that right because of the religious affiliation of the schools they deem best-suited for their children results in numerous direct and significant injuries to core constitutional interests. It infringes upon parents’ liberty interest in directing their children’s upbringing, and it infringes upon the fundamental First Amendment protection of free exercise.”
Parents have a constitutionally protected liberty interest to the best educational opportunity for their children. Empowering parents to exercise their constitutional right results in better educational outcomes as evidenced by numerous studies on brain science and individual learning. Denying parents their school of choice because of its religious nature injures parents and children by violating bedrock constitutional principles.
According to the brief’s author, former Solicitor General Paul Clement, citing numerous court precedents, “Denying parents their preferred option among a wide variety of otherwise neutrally available options merely because it is religiously affiliated is tantamount to denying them the ability to direct their children’s education and send them to their school of choice. But parents—not the government—have both the fundamental right and the high calling to direct the education and upbringing of their children.”
“Denying parents the ability to send their children to a desired school simply because that school is religiously affiliated directly implicates First Amendment concerns as well. The Free Exercise Clause “‘protect[s] religious observers against unequal treatment’ and subjects to the strictest scrutiny laws that target the religious for ‘special disabilities’ based on their ‘religious status.’”
The brief was filed by CER and 16 additional amici.
About the case: Plaintiff Kendra Espinoza was denied access to scholarships that would have helped lower the cost of her children’s education. She is represented by the Institute for Justice. Espinoza will be heard during the 2019-20 term, and a ruling is expected by June 2020. If the Supreme Court reverses the decision in favor of Espinoza, the case will be one of the most significant cases for education and parental rights in recent history.
To get a copy of the brief, please contact CER at pr@edreform.com.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
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5 Things Foster Parents Should Know
About Navigating The Court System
By Jennifer Lynch
The important role foster parents have in a child’s life expands significantly when they go to court.
To make decisions in a child’s best interest, judges need good information, and foster parents ideally can provide that. Thus, foster parents having a complete understanding of how to participate in court goes a long way toward ensuring a safe, loving home for the child.
Here is a priority list foster parents should know in advance of a court appearance.
Be prepared. Foster parents are the voice for the child and must do everything they can to ensure that the child is heard in court. Do not come to court unprepared. The more information you bring, the better.
The judge largely depends on the foster parents’ testimony to decide what’s in the child’s best interest. The idea is to have enough information so you can answer the judge’s questions in a clear and beneficial way. To prevent being overwhelmed with documents days before court or scrambling for information, the best way to prepare is to begin keeping a journal well in advance. Taking notes about what happens in your foster child’s life creates an organized record, showing progress, behavior patterns and how they express themselves in different situations. Include school records and doctor’s appointments as well as notes about interactions between the child and their birth parents. Include highpoints, lowpoints, and milestones in the child’s development while in your care.
Know your rights as a foster parent. Foster parents should receive notices of all hearings. If you are not getting them, contact your social worker and/or a juvenile department clerk.
Foster parents also have a legal right to attend review hearings, usually held every six months, until the foster child receives permanency or the case is closed. They also have a right to attend permanency hearings and post-termination of parental rights (TPR) hearings. Permanency hearings have to be held before a child reaches one year in foster care, then every six months. Post-TPR hearings are held every six months until the child is in a permanent home.
Should you bring the child to court? This decision is often left up to the social worker. What’s most important is what’s in the best interest of the child. If the child is uncomfortable going to court, it’s worth considering having he or she write a letter to the judge.
Educate yourself on common questions. There’s a list of questions judges commonly ask of foster parents; some of those questions can be found on websites under “foster care hearings.” Examples: How long have you been a foster parent? How long have you known this child? What changes have you noticed in the child’s behavior or emotional state since being in your home? How is the child doing in school? Let your social worker or attorney guide you and ask them any questions you may have, including what the objective is of the specific hearing you’re attending.
Speak respectfully and concisely. Don’t get emotional in your discourse with the judge, and don’t throw the birth parents under the bus. The court listens best to foster parents who have tried to work well with birth families and who aren’t on their own agenda, such as getting the child to stay permanently in their home. Speak up and speak clearly, and refer to the judge as “Your honor.” Be as clear and complete as possible so the judge will have sufficient information to make a decision.
One of the most important duties for a foster parent is to act as an advocate for the child in their care. That requires the foster parent to be able to tell the court all they know to help the court decide the child’s future.
Jennifer Lynch, author of the children’s book Livi and Grace (www.jenniferlynchbooks.com), is an educator and child advocate who serves as a guardian ad litem, a person appointed to represent a child’s interests in a court case. She has worked as a special education teacher for an elementary school and as a preschool teacher. In addition, Lynch created the You Are Good brand of T-shirts and other products for sale and for donations. Thousands of the shirts have been donated to children and teenagers in the system. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University.
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Use Your Head: What You Need To Know
When Considering A Hair Transplant
It’s a sad fact of male adult life: Many American men start losing their hair by the age of 35, statistics show.
Going bald can be a blow to the male ego, but rather than pull out their remaining follicles in frustration, more men are turning to hair transplant surgery. But with the industry growing rapidly in response to high demand, some transplant specialists say patients can be misled or confused amidst the mass of marketing and information. Some have been disappointed by the result; according to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), 64% of men having hair transplants were disappointed with their hair density after their procedure. Other common complaints include unnatural design of hairline, unnatural angling of hairs, and more visible, unnatural grafts.
A hair transplant can cost between $10,000-$25,000, so specialists emphasize that patients need to educate themselves before taking that leap.
“Hair restoration or transplant surgery is a medical specialty,” says
Dr. Christopher Varona (www.varonahairrestoration.com), a hair restoration specialist and the owner of Varona Hair Restoration in Newport Beach, Calif. “Many people aren’t aware of the possible pitfalls. A botched procedure can be worse than going bald.
“There are many factors that go into it, and certain procedures aren’t for everybody. But if you do your homework, you can have a great outcome.”
Dr. Varona suggests that anyone considering whether a hair transplant is right for them should:
Research non-surgical options first. “Surgery should be considered only as a last resort if other methods have failed to achieve the desired result,” Dr. Varona says. “First visit your regular doctor to discuss medical options, such as Rogaine and Propecia, the FDA-approved medical therapies for treating hair loss. PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatments for the scalp are also gaining popularity.”
Research hair transplant physicians. Prospective patients should ask physicians for examples of before-and-after hair transplant results. Investigate their reputation and read patient reviews. “Patients who prefer a certain technique need to make sure the surgeon is experienced in that method,” Dr. Varona said. “For example, FUE transplants are very popular right now because of the minimal scarring. But it’s a totally different skill set than a traditional FUT (strip) surgery. And remember, if a surgeon focuses solely on hair transplantation, they’re typically more knowledgeable and experienced in it than a surgeon who does it almost as a sideline, which many do.”
Have specific questions for the consult. Dr. Varona says it’s critical for patients to get answers to questions about others involved in the surgical process. “Patients need to ask, ‘Who is doing the actual FUE extractions of grafts during the FUE procedure?’ “ he says. “If it is not the doctor doing the surgery, why not, and who is? And what are that person’s qualifications?”
Have a first-visit checklist. “The doctor should ask about medical history, and they should explain the entire hair transplant procedure, which technique is right for the patient and why, and examine the donor area,” Dr. Varona says. “You want to make sure the surgery being proposed to you is done with your best interest in mind, and not the bias of the clinic trying to sell you a surgery.”
Have realistic expectations. “Sometimes a patient’s ideal image is not a realistic image for their particular case,” Dr. Varona says. “Patients must realize that hair restoration is a limited procedure due to finite resources. Once hair is used, it cannot be reused, and more hair cannot be generated.”
“Surgical hair restoration is a very serious decision that should not be taken lightly,” Dr. Varona says. “The planning for such a procedure is perhaps one of the most important undertakings you will ever do.”
About Dr. Christopher Varona
Dr. Christopher Varona (www.varonahairrestoration.com) is a leading hair restoration specialist and the owner of Varona Hair Restoration in Newport Beach, Calif. One of the few hair surgeons who perform FUE graft extractions manually himself, Varona focuses on follicular unit extraction (FUE surgery) and also performs follicular unit transplantation (FUT). He has performed over 6,000 cases.
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