Florida appeals court dismisses lawsuit challenging tax credit scholarships

A unanimous three-judge panel this morning dismissed a lawsuit challenging the nation's largest private school choice program.

The First District Court of Appeal ruled the statewide teachers union and other groups did not have legal standing to challenge Florida tax credit scholarships because they "failed to allege any concrete harm whatsoever" caused by the program, which is expected to provide scholarships to more than 90,000 low-income children in the coming school year.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, McCall v. Scott, in 2014, arguing the scholarships violated the state constitution because they supported a "parallel" public education system by offering children scholarships to attend private schools. They also argued it violated the state's prohibition on public aid to religious institutions.

A trial court judge dismissed the case last year after finding the plaintiffs could not show the scholarship program harmed public school funding, and did not qualify for a legal exception that would have allowed them to challenge the program as taxpayers. The appellate judges agreed.

"[D]espite arguing that public funds have been diverted from the public school system, [the plaintiffs] make no argument whatsoever that public school funding has actually declined," they wrote. Further, the court called the the diversion theory "incorrect as a matter of law."

The appellate judges held the case centered on political questions about school choice and education funding, and wrote that the ultimate "remedy is at the polls."

"This is precisely the type of dispute into which the courts must decline to intervene under the separation of powers doctrine," they wrote.

Joanne McCall, the president of the Florida Education Association and lead plaintiff in the case, has repeatedly attempted to liken the tax credit scholarship program to a school voucher program the state Supreme Court found unconstitutional in 2006.

In a new statement, she said the union was still deciding whether to appeal today's decision.

"Once again, the merits of this case aren't being argued. The court says that teachers and parents and other groups aren't allowed to challenge the constitutionality of the tax credit vouchers," she said. "The courts ruled a previous voucher scheme unconstitutional. Why won't they let teachers and parents challenge this one?"

Bishop Victory Curry of New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, who serves as Chairman of the Save Our Scholarships Coalition, said he hoped the groups challenging the program could drop the lawsuit and focus on meeting the needs of low-income students.

"We call upon the plaintiffs to give priority to the 90,000 poor minority children in the program and drop the suit. It's long past time for all of us who care so passionately about public education to put aside our differences and work together," he said in a statement. "This sweeping ruling should compel us to focus on the real enemies – despair, hopelessness and the ravages of generational poverty."

See coverage elsewhere: Associated Press. Politico Florida. Orlando Sentinel's School Zone. Tampa Bay Times' Gradebook. Palm Beach Post on Politics.

Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the scholarship program. This is a quick post about a developing story. Please check back for updates.

About Travis Pillow Travis Pillow is editor of redefinED. He spent his early professional career reporting on the inner workings of state government for a variety of news organizations, and became immersed in Florida's education policy debates while covering schools and the Legislature for the Tallahassee Democrat. A product of Seminole County Public Schools, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 2010. Reach him at tpillow@sufs.org or (407) 376-3105. Also, follow him on Twitter @travispillow.
Source: Florida appeals court dismisses lawsuit challenging tax credit scholarships

Scholarship bond defaulters and the betrayal of our youth

Last week, former NTUC CEO Tan Kin Lian shared his experience with a foreign student who was given a scholarship at a local Polytechnic:

According to Mr. Tan, the foreign student in question was unable to find a job due to the minimum salary and levy imposed by the S-pass scheme. Given that no employer was willing to pay $2,600 for a fresh polytechnic graduate, she was unable to find a job and returned to her home country, implying that she had not served her bond.

$50,000 wasted?In a 2012 Parliamentary response, Sim Ann replied that each pre-tertiary student costs an average of $14,000. However, such tuition costs seem to have increased with fees costing $9,213 a year excluding additional allowances for accommodation and spending. Adjusted for inflation, this could mean $50,000 in taxpayer's monies could have been wasted in this instance.

Leaving for greener pastures?Foreign students here on scholarship leaving for greener pastures is not an unheard of phenomenon. Last year, former PRC scholars Leo Chen and Steven Liu became amongst China's youngest Billionaires after the online cosmetics retailer they founded – Jumei – was successfully listed on the NYSE. The pair had picked up computing skills during their stint at NTU but left to Stanford to pursue further education.At what cost to Singapore?While there are no statistics available on foreign scholars who have decided to break their bond, Acting Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament in March that "more than" eight in ten foreign scholarship recipients have either served their bonds or applied for deferment and that defaulters will be dealt with harshly.

However, official statistics seems to present a different picture as to what dealt with harshly meant. An AGO audit report earlier this year revealed that there were 16 out of 30 cases reviewed during the audit where there was no prompt action taken towards scholars who have failed to serve their bond.The report was also revealed that 1.4% of loans were deemed to be unrecoverable of the $511 million outstanding. While there was no clear indication on why such loans were unrecoverable, such loans are likely to be inclined towards foreign scholars who have left. In other words, as much as $7 million could have been lost on such cases.

What about Singaporeans?Earlier in May, political commentator Leong Sze Hian calculated that as much as 43% of the spaces our local universities could have been occupied by foreigners. This is based on an official statistic of 34% (Times Higher Education) and an assumed 13.5% of the "local" population being PRs.

Besides the numbers, the costs and social impact to middle-class families are also quite telling. In a 2008 Parliamentary session, it was revealed by then Minister of Education Dr Ng Eng Hen that approximately a third of the Singaporean undergraduate cohorts took a study loan to fund their education with the an average debt of $20,000.From a labour market perspective, the number of S-pass holders has increased by 56% in the last 5 years or so from 113,900 in December 2011 to 178,600 in December 2015. Given the costs to employer, it is interesting to see how the wages for semi-skilled Singaporean workers will be affected.

Tan Kheng-Liang

*The author is part of the editorial team @TRE but the views given here are part of his own

Source: Scholarship bond defaulters and the betrayal of our youth

Al Bruce: Classmate's son wins Fulbright Scholarship

This article again proves Gregor Mendel was correct about the inviolate rules of genetics:

Here's the up-to-date proof: Dr. Richard Beal is assistant dean of educational outreach and adjunct professor in the New York Eastern State Forestry (ESF) College Department of Environmental and Forest Biology. For those who follow this column with anything more than casual interest, Dr. Beal is the son of A-E's college classmate Richard who is a retired senior research chemist at a fortune 500 company.

Dr. Beal's work and credentials are impressive, as would be expected of winners of ultra-competitive Fulbright Scholarships: Rick teaches Global Environment and is the primary mentor for high school teachers who teach Global Environment through the ESF high school program.

The list of his responsibilities seems to approach endless, at least to the lazy author of this column: Rick is currently co-principal of a three-year $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation that brings college research into Central and Western New York high schools and middle schools through the ESF Science Corps.

Rick worked two years prior to his outreach appointment on projects involving biophysical economics and simulation modeling. A-E knows as much about that pair of subjects as he does about quantum physics and the De Medicis who became Popes.

Dr. Beal's list of achievements seem to grow exponentially: He is a board member for Project Watershed and a member of the Onondaga Lake Partnership Outreach Committee. In addition, he's on the steering committee for the Greater Syracuse Scholastic Science Fair and is the director at large of environmental science for the Science Teachers Association of New York State.

Professor Beal earned his bachelor of science and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry from the University at Buffalo. He was a Peace Corps teacher in Eritrea, East Africa; has more than 10 years of experience coaching soccer, and is currently faculty advisor to the ESF Club Soccer Team.

His letter from the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) noted two important new components of his resume: He will be teaching in Cambodia and was selected from a large pool of applicants for the Fulbright Awards.

From the letter, "The FFSB is the presidentially appointed 12-member board responsible for supervising the Fulbright Program worldwide and approving selection of all Fulbright recipients. (Dr. Beal's) grant is made possible through funds appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and the private sector.

In what's probably the most understated part of the letter: "Your selection for a Fulbright award is an achievement for which you can be justly proud.

"As a Fulbright grantee, (Rick) will join the ranks of distinguished participants in the program. Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, and university presidents, as well as leading journalists, artists, scientists and teachers. They have been awarded 53 Nobel Prizes. Since its beginnings in 1946, more than 360,000 have participated in the Program.

Page 2 of 2 - "Senator Fulbright's goal of developing international understanding depends on a commitment from Fulbright grantees to establish open communication and long-term cooperative relationships. As a Fulbrighter (the Fulbright term, not from the author of this column) and a representative of the United States, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with international partners in educational, political, cultural, economic, and scientific fields.

"We hope you'll become involved in your local (Cambodian) community while on your Fulbright exchange. (That) will demonstrate the qualities of service, excellence and leadership that have been hallmarks of this Program for more than 65 years.

"The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States State Department, which oversees the operations of this Program throughout the world, joins the Board in congratulating you."

For the record, Classmate Richard includes in his achievements the title of national youth soccer coach of the year.

Columnist Al Bruce lives in Canisteo.

Source: Al Bruce: Classmate's son wins Fulbright Scholarship

Temple's motivation leads to long-awaited scholarship

Matthew Temple has a list in his room.

It's blank, except for its title: "List of Division I offers you had out of high school."

Despite averaging 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds his senior season at Rider High School in Wichita Falls, the only schools Temple talked to were junior colleges.

"That sticks in the back of my mind," Temple said. "It's a good reminder to me to stay motivated about the other people that didn't want me. I'm going to make them regret that."

And he has.

Just over a year since walking into the men's basketball office to inquire about walking on, Temple was (by his teammates' estimations) finally awarded a scholarship.

But it wasn't something just given to the 6-foot-10 senior to complete the total of scholarships allowed. It was earned.

"He earned it by his play on the court last year and his approach from the day we got the job to the present," Tech coach Chris Beard said. "Another cool thing about that story is that I had two or three of his teammates come into my office in one-on-one settings and go to bat for Matt. 'Coach, it's your decision. We're with you but we believe Matt should be a scholarship player.' That was pretty cool."

Growing up

Temple, then 16 years old, definitely experienced some culture shock when his family moved to Wichita Falls.

Cliff, Matt's father, has worked at a pair of oil companies for the past 30-plus years which meant the Temple family needed to move a couple of times.

Born in London, England, Temple spent most of his life in Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation near Venezuela.

"It's called the melting pot of the Caribbean," Temple said. "All the culture there was a little bit overwhelming. The people were so friendly and so laid back. You definitely get that island vibe when you're there. The no worries philosophy is pretty prevalent. The attitude they have there and the culture of the people were definitely the best parts."

While there, Temple attended an international school with his brother and sisters.

They played every sport possible.

"I'd have rugby practice at 3:30 p.m. until 5 p.m.," Temple said. "Then I'd go to basketball practice for an hour and just flip between the two. ... All my siblings and I, we all played soccer, volleyball and basketball. My brother and I played rugby."

Those interests narrowed down to basketball as he lettered his two years at Rider.

However, when Temple didn't receive any interest from larger schools, he figured playing basketball at the next level just wouldn't be a reality for him.

So he came to Texas Tech, joined a fraternity (Delta Tau Delta) and started the next chapter of his life.

All the while, that dream of playing collegiate basketball kept nagging at him.

Until he finally did something about it.

Making the team

Temple has made a trio of major phone calls to his family.

The first came a year ago when he successfully walked onto the team.

The second came in January when he moved into the starting lineup after Norense Odiase broke his foot at TCU.

The final one came a few weeks ago when he received a scholarship.

"I think the making the team phone call was probably the best one," Temple said. "The first one I had just telling them I made the team was the biggest one for me."

Temple had been thinking about trying to walk on the Red Raider basketball team.

He often played at the recreation center on campus, some times against former Red Raider Clark Lammert.

Clark's cousin, Travis, was in the same fraternity, so Temple bounced his idea off Clark to determine its potential.

"He just completely encouraged me to do it," Temple said. "He told me, 'Hey, if you really want it, it's going to be a lot of work. You've got the talent for it. I know what it takes and you definitely have it.' It was basically if I had the passion, just go for it."

When Temple walked into the men's basketball offices, Tubby Smith wasn't there. Vince Taylor was.

Temple felt that the coaches probably shooed guys away when they walked in wondering about being part of the team.

But when a 6-foot-10 guy walks in, things change.

"He said, 'OK, we have an open gym this afternoon. If you want to come out and play with the guys, we'll see how it goes,'" Temple said. "I came out and played the open gym. After open gym, coach Tubby (Smith) said, 'Well, why don't you come back tomorrow.' So I said, 'Alright I'll come back tomorrow.'

"I did the same thing and played with them up and down for a while. At the end of the second day, he said that if I'd like to play, they'd love to have me. It happened so fast. That was pretty cool."

Relief

While the first call is his favorite, the most recent phone call Temple made to his family was the biggest relief.

There was some uncertainty concerning a scholarship.

With Smith and his staff, there were talks about it but it wasn't official.

Then, once Smith departed and Beard entered, Temple knew there was a limited amount of scholarships and they were all needed to better Texas Tech for the future.

What Temple wasn't aware of was Beard's knowledge of his story.

When Little Rock played Texas Tech last December, former Tech assistant coach Joe Esposito told Beard where they found Temple.

"I told everybody on our staff, and they were all going to the Rec center," Beard said. "We were at the Rec center about every day looking for the next Matt Temple."

So, when Beard called him into his office toward the end of June, Temple was grateful and relieved.

"Getting to call my parents was definitely the best part because I know my mom and dad had been stressed about that," Temple said. "They put four kids through college, so they're ready to stop paying the bills."

Support

Norense Odiase joked about how he called Temple "Walk-on" or "Rec."

"I guess I'll just be calling him Matt Temple now," Odiase said, smiling. "I need to find him a new name."

All jokes aside, Odiase knew Temple deserved a scholarship. The only question was when it was going to happen.

After telling Temple the good news in his office, Beard told the rest of the team later on in the film room.

"We were livin' man," Devon Thomas said. "Everyone on the team loves Matt and knows how hard he works. He's one of the hardest workers on the team. It was a great moment."

Added Keenan Evans: "Everyone knew it was coming. We were just waiting to see if it actually happened. We were all excited and happy for him. He's a great guy, a great teammate and an even better player."

Justin Gray wasn't in the film room when the rest of the team found out.

Instead, he was scrolling through his Twitter feed when he saw the official announcement.

"I was ecstatic," Gray said. "I started freaking out. I remember we had meetings with coach Beard and we went to bat for Matt and told coach Beard he needed a scholarship. Seeing his work and dedication in the classroom and off the court, just to play and be eligible having an impact as soon as he comes and being a starter and being a threat on the court is one of the best stories I've ever heard in basketball."

krista.pirtle@lubbockonline.com

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Source: Temple's motivation leads to long-awaited scholarship

Scholarship honors LaLuzerne's life

(Photo: Courtesy of Lori LaLuzerne)

Two former Sturgeon Bay High School graduates are trying to raise $60,000 for a scholarship to honor former classmate Adam LaLuzerne.

LaLuzerne, formerly of Sturgeon Bay, and friends Kurt Ahonen of Suamico and Dylan Abeyta of Sturgeon Bay were swept off the South Pier breakwall in Sheboygan July 17. Abeyta was the only one of the three men to survive. A fourth friend who was not knocked into the water, Jeremy Wheat, called the U.S. Coast Guard.

Peter Dahl of Sturgeon Bay knew LaLuzerne, Wheat and Abeyta from high school, and Ahonen from St. Norbert College. All four attended St. Norbert. Dahl came up with the idea of creating a scholarship, now called The Adam LaLuzerne Humanitarian Scholarship, within days of LaLuzerne and Ahonen's deaths.

"Basically, just in the wake of Adam's passing I think for me and for a lot of people, we knew how committed Adam was to community service. I found myself thinking about all the good Adam was going to do with his life if he was given more time," Dahl said.

Dahl, who graduated from both high school and college with LaLuzerne, was not a close friend. He explained that everyone, including himself, liked LaLuzerne. Dahl also admired him for his kindness to others and his call to serve.

Once he settled on the idea of a scholarship, Dahl wrote a post on Facebook asking for assistance. Another Sturgeon Bay classmate, Daniel Holdridge, answered the call.

Holdridge had been close childhood friends with LaLuzerne. The two grew apart as they got older.

"It's tough, you couldn't possibly overstate what a kind, generous person Adam was," Holdridge said. "I think that can be shown by the impact the news had on the community."

A memorial service for LaLuzerne and Ahonen at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Sturgeon Bay was packed the day after the accident.

According to LaLuzerne's mother, Lori LaLuzerne, her son took part in mission trips and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and St. John Evangelist Homeless Shelter in Green Bay. He helped build homes in the Green Bay area and around the country.

"Adam was happiest while he was serving others. That's what kept him going and made him who he was," Lori LaLuzerne said. "Another thing he was always an advocate for equality and the dignity of all people."

She also recalls how he would bake elaborate cheesecakes for people's birthdays and as a child would do yardwork for neighbors.

During a school camping trip another student had no pillow or sleeping bag.

"He made sure they were warm enough and had what they needed," she said.

Scholarship

The scholarship will be open to Sturgeon Bay High School seniors, and is meant to honor LaLuzerne's love of service.

The biggest requirement for the scholarship is the student must have a "stellar record" of community involvement, including service projects, Holdridge said.

The two men are looking to raise $60,000 using the crowdfunding site YouCaring. As of Friday the men had raised a little more than $2,300. To donate online go www.youcaring.com and search "Adam LaLuzerne." Donations can also be sent to the Door County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 802, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235. On the check indicate that the donation is for The Adam LaLuzerne Humanitarian Scholarship

The goal is to make the fund self-sustaining, Dahl said. Once the money is raised, the scholarship committee at Sturgeon Bay High School is expected to be responsible for choosing a yearly recipient and the Door County Community Foundation will oversee the funds.

"We want it to be very, very transparent," Holdridge said. "That all this money is going to be given to the Door County Community Foundation."

LaLuzerne's family is touched by Dahl and Holdridge's drive to make a lasting tribute to their son.

"I am in awe of the youth in this community that took the initiative and decided to create a scholarship to honor Adam's memory," Lori LaLuzerne said.

- svhernande@doorcountyadvocate.com, Samantha Hernandez on Facebook or 920-743-3321, ext. 112. 

Read or Share this story: http://gbpg.net/2bd8oXF

Source: Scholarship honors LaLuzerne's life

Full Tuition Fee MBA Scholarships, New York University, USA

New York University (NYU Stern) – USA, is offering full tuition fee MBA scholarships for all students (domestic and international) from any country commencing study in academic year 2017.

The scholarship will cover full tuition fees, and a small stipend. Scholarships are available for the duration of your study. There is no additional application for the scholarship. Scholarships will be awarded based on your admission application and are final.

Level of Education

Scholarships are available for Master degree only.

Subjects or Fields of Study

Scholarships are available for MBA program only.

Amount of Scholarships

Successful candidates will receive:

Full tuition fees

A small stipend

Duration of Scholarships

Scholarships are available for the duration of your study.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must meet all the eligibility criteria below:

Applicants are welcome from any country (domestic and international).

Applicants must meet all the entry requirements for MBA program at New York University (NYU Stern).

Applicants must meet English language entry requirement.

Scholarships only available for new students commencing study in academic year 2017. Current students are not eligible to apply.

Number of Scholarships Available

Unknown. Please contact New York University (NYU Stern) for more info.

Nationality

Scholarships available for all students from any country. There is no other restriction on nationality.

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be assessed based on admission application.

How to Apply

You must apply online using their online application service. There is no separate application for the scholarship. Your application for the MBA program will be assessed for the scholarship.

Please read the guidance and terms of the scholarship program on their website.

Application Deadline

The latest closing date for this scholarship program is March 15, 2017.

Please take note of the deadline. Late and incomplete submissions will not be entertained!

Result Notification

Please contact New York University (NYU Stern) for more info.

Important Notes

Applicants are welcome from any country.

There is no separate application for the scholarship. Your application for the MBA program will be assessed for the scholarship.

Scholarship decisions are final.

For further info please visit: www.stern.nyu.edu.

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Source: Full Tuition Fee MBA Scholarships, New York University, USA

Can Biblical Scholarship Free itself from Confessional and Evangelical Interests?

The goal of Biblical Studies Online is to provide both biblical scholars and the interested wider public with ease of access to quality biblical scholarship, as it comes available online.

. . . .

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to locate these resources on the internet, and sometimes difficult for those less experienced with biblical scholarship to distinguish worthwhile material from that which is inaccurate or even grossly misleading. And when it comes to the Bible, there is no shortage of the latter to be found. For this reason, Biblical Studies Online offers a gateway for the dissemination and publicizing of worthwhile open-access, online biblical scholarship.

Sounds like a great resource. Professor James Crossley is one of the two scholars listed as a maintainer of the site and given that Crossley has published protests against faith-based scholarship and is a strong advocate of a secular approach to biblical studies I allowed myself hope that "quality biblical scholarship" and "worthwhile material" would mean work free from confessional bias. Crossley, after all, is well aware that the entire field of New Testament studies risks the perception of being described as a "dubious" academic field. He even expresses some dismay that an academic conference should be opened with a prayer!

In September 2000 the annual British New Testament Conference, held in Roehampton, opened with both a glass of wine and a Christian prayer, the perfect symbols of middle-class Christianity, some might say. The glass of wine I can accept, but should an academic meeting that explicitly has no official party line really hold a collective prayer at its opening, particularly when some of the participants are certainly nonreligious and some possibly from non-Christian faiths? Leaving aside the moral issue, the fact that there is an overwhelming Christian presence in British NT scholarship is surely the reason that this could happen. Would other contemporary conferences in the humanities outside theology and biblical studies even contemplate prayer? Would the participants of nontheological conferences even believe that other academic conferences do such things? (Crossley, Why Christianity Happened, p. 23)

The most recent two videos posted by the Biblical Studies Online site are lectures by scholars (Professors Tigay and Gathercole) I recognize from my wider reading; the latter's works I have posted about here. So given Crossley's association with the site and the site's own promotional stress on "quality" and "worthwhile" scholarship, I was not prepared for the latest video presentation by Professor Tigay opening with a PRAYER!

Advance to 3:50

I suppose what follows is a form of "biblical scholarship" but I would have categorized it under theology. The entire lecture is about how Jews and others have attempted to rationalize the biblical commands to exterminate the Canaanites with the sort of God and values worshipers want to believe in. Professor Tigay expressed his own view at the end: the genocidal commands were created by scribes attempting to explain why they saw no Canaanites around in their own day.

I would have expected a secular approach to the Deuteronomic laws to focus upon their origins, and that would have meant that Professor Tigay would have argued in some detail for his view and set his arguments beside alternative hypotheses. Rather, the lecture merely demonstrated the confessional interests of the professor, his audience, and the interests behind the site Biblical Studies Online.

An earlier video lecture was delivered by Professor Gathercole. He was introduced as "one of the stars in academia of evangelical faith". Thanks for the warning. I will be more aware of his bias next time I read any of his scholarly work.

Professor Gathercole begins by setting himself and his audience apart from "Jesus sceptics" and "sceptical scholars". A scholar using "sceptical" as a negative descriptor!

What follows is just what I would expect to find set out in an evangelical tract that purports to prove that the Bible is "true". Twenty-two of twenty-seven place-names in the Gospels are said to be found in other sources, and that compares with a similar ratio of thirty-five out of forty-four towns in Josephus's writings being identified independently. Meanwhile the apocryphal gospels get place-names hopelessly mixed up.

Conclusion: no-one doubts Josephus wrote real history (despite his exaggerations), so it is implied that there is no excuse to doubt the reliability of the canonical gospels!

I found the framing the argument interesting. It went something like this: Josephus describes traveling from place A to B just as Jesus went from A to B, etc.

How can a geographical place itself support the historicity of a narrative story that is set there? Obviously it can't. But this added to a site as a contribution to "quality biblical scholarship" and "worthwhile material".

One has to assume that the other material posted on that site will only be "worthwhile" and "quality" in the eyes of those who have a devotional or evangelical interest in the Bible.

Source: Can Biblical Scholarship Free itself from Confessional and Evangelical Interests?