Students to descend on Alabama Capitol for nation’s largest school choice rally

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January 27, 2015

Alabama Capitol (Photo: Flickr, sunsurfr)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A school choice march and rally set to take place in Montgomery on Wednesday is expected to be the largest organized event during National School Choice Week, an annual nationwide education reform push that takes place each January.

Over 10,000 school choice-focused events are scheduled to take place around the country this week, each of them aimed at “empowering families to choose the educational environment that best suits the individual needs of their children,” according to a release by the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund. Organizers for the Montgomery event estimate over 2,200 students will participate in the rally, along with parents, teachers, community leaders and elected officials.

Several prominent school choice advocacy groups are involved in organizing the Alabama event, and noted rights activist Dr. Howard Fuller and education reform leader Kevin P. Chavous are among those leading the march.

Alabama made history in 2013 when the state legislature passed the Alabama Accountability Act, a tax credit scholarship program that represented Alabama’s first foray into school choice. This year the legislature is poised to vote on a public charter schools program, further expanding education options in the state.

“The Accountability Act was a step in the right direction and I look forward to joining with my colleagues in the Senate and House as we continue to push for the very best education for all children, regardless of zip code or family income level,” Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) told Yellowhammer.

Alabama native and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also weighed in on the issue recently when she derided teachers unions, including the Alabama Education Association (AEA), for actively working against school choice, thereby trapping students in underperforming schools.

“The Republican Party — we’re the Party of education reform and school choice and giving parents a chance to get poor kids out of failing neighborhood public schools,” she said. “(We’re) not defending poor teachers, not defending union policies…”

The rally will begin Wednesday at 9:00 am at the Doubletree Hotel in Montgomery, and attendees will march to the South Lawn of the Alabama Capitol, where community leaders, students, and parents will speak at 1 a.m.