What do Dr. Laura, the radio/newspaper commentator, Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza, and James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, have in common?

All are conservative activists who have signed a proclamation calling on California parents to withdraw their children from public schools.

While many conservative critics of education argue that they aren't anti-public schools but merely want them to work better, not so for Dr. Laura and friends. The proclamation they have signed is sponsored by the Alliance for the Separation of School and State, specifically designed, according to the group's materials, to "liberate" K-12 schools from state, local, and federal government control.

"Our mission is to re-establish parental control of education by eliminating the government control which has led to propaganda masquerading as education," says Alliance president Marshall Fritz.

Testing Ad Nauseum

From the March 14 Sacramento Bee in California: "Testrelated jitters, especially among young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it."

Profits over Kids

The board of directors of a charter school in Cincinnati sued to close in late March, arguing that the for-profit company running the school is too obsessed with making a profit.

The school is run by a Cincinnati-based affiliate of SABIS Educational Inc., and had been under contract with a non-profit group to run the SABIS International School of Cincinnati. But now the nonprofit groups wants to sever the relationship.