Born of political urgency, Citizens for Public Schools was formed in the spring of 1982, to oppose a Massachusetts ballot question seeking to divert tax dollars to parochial schools. Over the course of a few hectic weeks its leaders assembled a broad coalition of organizations and individuals committed to public education. Voters across the state responded positively to the message of the new coalition and the ballot question went down to defeat by a margin of two to one.
CPS remained active, organizing meetings, sponsoring forums, expanding its membership, and preparing to fight another ballot initiative by voucher proponents four years later. Victorious again in 1986, CPS has since responded to numerous constitutional challenges in the courts and in the legislature.
In the wake of the June 2002, U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the constitutionality of a voucher program in Ohio, CPS and its allies stand committed, once again, to rally support for public schools. CPS believes our society is best served when publicly-funded schools are accountable to the whole community and open to all children. CPS strongly believes that a clear delineation between church and state best furthers the goals of public education and religious liberty.
As a broad based coalition, CPS provides a unique forum for sharing information on critical policy issues, legislation, and education-related litigation. Monthly meetings bring together members of many diverse organizations to share updates on their work and hear presentations by scholars, legislators, policy makers and other activists.
CPS closely monitors state legislative action, providing lawmakers with timely information on how certain bills and budget proposals may affect educational opportunity.
Through numerous publications, including the well received Guide to Education Terms, People and Policies and its groundbreaking report on the costs and benefits of the charter school initiative, CPS has challenged the steady stream of disinformation generated by right wing think tanks.
Conservative forces, buoyed by the recent Supreme Court ruling, are preparing a new challenge to the Massachusetts Constitution. Their goal is nothing less than overturning the long standing constitutional safeguard against transferring public funds to private and religious schools. At the same time the political right continues to push for more and more charter schools, for dismantling bilingual education, ending voluntary integration efforts and imposing even more standardized testing on the public system.
As a leading voice in Massachusetts for inclusive, democratically accountable public schools, CPS and its member organizations have engaged the battle on all fronts. With your support, CPS will continue to make a positive difference in shaping education policy that helps all children achieve to their full potential.