Judgment Day for School Vouchers: Discussion of Cleveland School Voucher Plan at NPC June 28

6/26/2002

From: Heather Morton of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 202-955-5078

News Advisory:

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hand down its decision regarding the constitutionality of school vouchers in the Cleveland, Ohio, school district on Thursday, June 27. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life will present a discussion of this decision on Friday, June 28, featuring Constitutional litigators, scholars, religious leaders and educators with differing opinions. Please join us for a discussion of what many expect to be the most important church-state case of the past decade.

What: A discussion of the Cleveland school voucher plan

When: Friday, June 28, 2002 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Where: The National Press Club, Holeman Lounge 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC

Who: -- Mark Chopko, General Counsel, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- Judith French, former Assistant Attorney General, State of Ohio; argued Zelman case on behalf of Ohio before the Supreme Court -- Ira (Chip) Lupu, Louis Harkey Mayo Research Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School; Co-director of the Legal Tracking Project of The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy -- Nicholas Miller, Attorney, Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood; Co-counsel for the plaintiffs/respondents in Mitchell v. Helms, 530 U.S. 793 (2000); Board of Directors, Council on Religious Freedom -- Elliot Mincberg, Co-counsel for opponents of school voucher plans in Cleveland, Milwaukee, Pennsylvania and Florida; General Counsel and Legal and Education Policy Director, People for the American Way -- Father William F. Davis, OSFS, Deputy Secretary for Schools (Catholic Schools and Public Policy), U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- Marc Egan, Director, Voucher Strategy Center, National School Boards Association -- Rev. Tim McDonald, President, African American Ministers Leadership Council; Pastor, First Iconium Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga. -- Virginia Walden-Ford, Executive Director, D.C. Parents for School Choice, Inc.

Moderators: -- E.J. Dionne, Jr., Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution; Co-Chair, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; Columnist, The Washington Post -- Melissa Rogers, Executive Director, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

RSVP to Kirsten Hunter at (202) 955-5075, acceptances only.