The Executive Committee and at least 70% of the entire State Committee of the RPA have provisionally approved this document for publication. It is proposed for formal approval at the next Reform Party of Arizona State Convention. This platform applies to candidates seeking to represent Arizona in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. In recognition of the distinctly different constitutional roles played by national and state/local elected officials, a separate platform will be developed for state and local candidates.
Please address all questions, comments, and suggestions to: weyrich_comp@yahoo.com.
A free society demands an educated people. Parents have the right to make decisions concerning their children's education. Because Federal education programs are unconstitutional, this function must be returned to the states and/or to the people.
Whereas our United States Constitution does not grant powers to the Federal Government other than those enumerated therein, we call for the dismantling of the Department of Education.
The Federal Government shall not regulate nor intervene in our schools. Neither shall it promote or endorse a particular worldview or philosophy, in keeping with the First Amendment that prohibits the establishment of a religion.
The responsibility to educate our youth belongs to the people, in particular to the parents or legitimate guardian of the child, and this right shall not be denied them. Parents shall have the right to choose the method of education which shall include but not be limited to: private schools, correspondence schools, home schooling or public schools run by local and independent school boards, whose members are elected in fair elections, free from special interest groups, union and political influence.
We recommend that Reform Party state organizations issue a supplemental education platform that addresses the particular needs of the people in their state.
The indiscriminate diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), hyperactivity, and depression by school staff, and the undue pressure exerted on parents to medicate their children with mind-altering drugs such as Ritalin, Paxil, and Prozac (to name a few), is a scandal in our school system and an injustice to our children.
The diagnosing, prescribing and dissemination of medication and medical procedures are not legitimate functions of our schools, and should be discontinued immediately.
The responsibility for the health and welfare of children belongs to the parent or legal guardian in consultation with their family physician, and this right shall not be breached by school administrators, staff or federal and state agencies.
We oppose federal funding for education. We believe funding for public education should be derived from local sources such as state and county taxes, municipal bonds, private grants and philanthropic scholarships.
The RPA will work to discontinue a national curriculum, mandates, federal grants and programs such as Goals 2000, Outcome Based Education, School to Work, sensitivity workshops, sex education and a host of other programs that proliferate in our schools and seek to corrupt our children and undermine parental authority and traditional family values.