Nevada Parents Heading To Court January 6 To Block Unconstitutional Private School Voucher Law

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Educate Nevada Now, powered by The Rogers Foundation, Stands with Nevada’s Public School Children

LAS VEGAS, NV (Jan. 4, 2016) — This past September, Nevada public school parents sued to block implementation of a controversial private school voucher law that will divert funding from the state’s already underfunded public schools. This Wednesday, Jan. 6, at 1:30 p.m., the parents will appear at a hearing before Judge James Wilson of the First Judicial District Court in Carson City, NV, to halt implementation of Senate Bill 302, the law passed in June that establishes the voucher program.

Educate Nevada Now (ENN), powered by The Rogers Foundation, stands fully behind these parents’ efforts to safeguard Nevada’s public schools.
At the hearing, Judge Wilson will consider the parents’ motion to stop the voucher law from going into effect because it will divert critical funding that can only be used for educating Nevada public school children and transfers those funds to private schools and other private education services.  Stopping the voucher program is vital to protect the state’s public schools.
The parents claim SB 302 violates the Nevada Constitution in three ways:
  1. By diverting funds that the Legislature has committed to the public schools away from the public schools to private schools.
  2. By reducing public school funding below the amount determined to be “sufficient” by the Legislature.
  3. By transferring public funds to private schools exempt from the anti-discriminatory and accountability standards that are applicable to Nevada’s public schools.
“The voucher law is wrong for Nevada public school children and their families,” said Sylvia Lazos, ENN’s Policy Director. “Educate Nevada Now and The Rogers Foundation applaud these courageous parents for standing up for their children and the 460,000 children across the state who attend our public schools.”
Educate Nevada Now will host a press briefing immediately following the hearing on the courthouse steps.
The legal team representing Nevada parents in this case are working pro bono. The team consists of: Tamerlin J. Godley, Laura Mathe, Samuel Boyd and Thomas Clancy of Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP; Don Springmeyer, Justin Jones and Bradley Schrager of Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin, LLP; and David Sciarra and Amanda Morgan of the nonprofit Education Law Center, a partner of ENN and The Rogers Foundation.
For more information, visit www.educatenevadanow.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Educate Nevada Now
Educate Nevada Now, powered by The Rogers Foundation, is a multi-year campaign aimed at securing school finance reform and improving education outcomes and opportunities for all of Nevada’s public school children. The campaign raises awareness about the need for school funding reform, engages parents, students, and community and statewide stakeholders in the effort, conducts critical research, proposes policies to address funding and resource deficiencies, and ensures the effective and efficient use of resources in schools and districts. A centerpiece of the Educate Nevada Now strategy is to break legislative gridlock and move the focus to the rights of children. For more information, visitwww.educatenevadanow.com.

About The Rogers Foundation
The Rogers Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Founded in 2013 by James E. and Beverly Rogers, The Rogers Foundation awards scholarships to individual students in Southern Nevada and grants to educational institutions, artists and organizations that support the arts in Southern Nevada. For more information, visit www.therogers.foundation.