About the Alliance

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About Us! 
Who Were We?  What Did We Do?

The Alliance for the Separation of School & State was established in 1994 by Marshall Fritz as a non-partisan foundation dedicated to fueling the discussion over the proper role of parents, the free market and government in education and helping parents think more creatively about choosing independence.

Marshall helped this discussion gain traction across the nation and even around the world. But the time came when he realized a new direction was necessary, and he hired Alan Schaeffer to come on board to navigate a fresh course. At the same time, Marshall fell ill with pancreatic cancer. He passed away in 2008, leaving many thousands of people better for having known him.

This web site is maintained as a legacy to the yeoman’s work Marshall did to bring the subject of freedom in education to the forefront of Americans’ minds.

 

Marshall Fritz passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, after a months-long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 65.

While Marshall was living, The Alliance had a proclamation that individuals could sign signifying their dedication to freedom in education. Because The Alliance now acts as a legacy to Marshall and we no longer recruit signatories, we have chosen to retire our proclamation. It can still be found here and there on the web, but we do not present it on our web site, because it is no longer part of what we do.

We thank all the courageous people who have signed the proclamation over the years and we want to assure them that we are still fully dedicated to helping parents choose freedom in education, but the proclamation is no longer a tool we are using. NEO, the new organization founded by Alan Schaeffer, is the means by which we are working for a future that puts parents back in the driver’s seat of their children’s education.

To learn more about our founder, read Marshall's biography.

To learn more about our history, read the interview with Alliance founder, Marshall Fritz.

The Alexis de Tocqueville Award was conceived by Marshall Fritz in 1995 to honor very special people who advance educational freedom.  Learn more about the award and its recipients.


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