ESA update: Oral arguments set!

Karen Gray

Woo hoo!

Oral Arguments in both Lopez and Duncan are officially set for July 29!

For now, we are on a single, expedited path to conclusion without briefing delay. The ACLU sought a 63-day briefing period in the Duncan appeal, but they only got 10 days to brief. And the State of Nevada got seven days to respond.

Then, the next stop? The Nevada Supreme Court at the Regional Justice Center located at 200 Lewis Ave, 17th Floor, in Las Vegas — Lopez at 10:00 a.m. and Duncan to follow at 11:30 a.m. Hope to see you there!

I know it’s been a frustrating year and it’s getting hard to keep the faith and find much comfort when you’ve been for so long on the edge of your seat, clinging onto hopes for your children through the ups and downs, round and rounds, and even hanging-upside-downs of these legal challenges and funding postponements. Please, hang on a little longer. Remember, wearing down support and the hope and enthusiasm of families is what the opposition seeks to do. To succeed, they must demoralize parents and weaken the rapidly growing fervor for educational choice in our state. Stay strong!

While the opposition needs to wear parents down, the ESA legal team, Nevada judges and the Supreme Court Justices are very much aware that it is the future for thousands of Silver State children that hangs in the balance. That is evident by the lightning speed in which this roller coaster ride has made its way through the legal process. As I see it, the Supreme Court sent a strong message of urgency by also setting oral arguments in Duncan for July 29. Did you know it typically takes about three years for a school-choice case to get to this point in the legal process? Six months, folks. Six months since the injunction and both of the ESA cases are set for oral arguments at the Nevada Supreme Court. Truly amazing!

Now that the two cases are running together, I’ve created a little cheat-sheet to help you distinguish between the two cases: [link]

For those of you racing the clock to turn in your ESA applications, remember they must be received in the Treasurer’s office by 5 p.m. this Thursday, June 30th!! I will be at the new David O. McKay campuses Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to help with applications and answer any questions. At this point, I recommend turning applications in by hand — get a copy of the stamped application — to ensure a timely submission. In Carson City, you can turn them in at 101 N. Carson Street, Suite 4. In Las Vegas, you can turn them in at the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property office at the Grant Sawyer Building located at 555 E. Washington Ave., just off Las Vegas Boulevard — across from Cashman Field. The office is on the first floor, to the left side of the building. Sorry, I don’t know the suite number.

Speaking of applications, for those of you interested in the tax-scholarship program, two new Scholarship Granting Organizations have registered: Americas Scholarship Konnection, out of Gilbert, Arizona and ACSI Children Education Fund out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Currently their websites do not yet have links for Nevada applications. Be sure to check back with them and also the Arete Scholarship Foundation for application opportunities. The other three SGO’s have closed their application periods.

I want to thank everyone for all their support over this past year. In no way could the team at NevadaESA.com have reached the thousands of parents and community leaders we have without your support and efforts. Thank you for sharing my emails, our NevadaESA.com website, trusting me with your questions, hosting information meetings in your homes, places of work, churches and schools and responding to my calls for volunteers (we’re always accepting volunteers!). And, a million thanks to the elected officials and state officers who have been so very supportive of our efforts to inform, educate and help the entire Nevada community navigate both the ESA and tax scholarship programs.

Together, Nevadans will…

 

#LetOurChildrenSucceed

~Karen