Marshall Fritz

In 1994 Marshall founded the Alliance for the Separation of School & State and was Chairman of the Board until his death. He was a leading spokesman in how ending state, federal, and local government involvement in schooling can improve education for all children, strengthen the family, and even lead to a turnaround of our collapsing society. ... His ideas for high quality education were so advanced that his school [Pioneer Christian Academy] received endorsements of educators from William Glasser to Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman to New York State Teacher of the Year John Taylor Gatto.

Marshall Fritz was a legendary and beloved libertarian leader who founded the Advocates for Self-Government and created the world-famous World's Smallest Political Quiz. He was an innovator and a genius. He was a brilliant speaker and was extremely personable. He opened many people's eyes to new ideas and new ways of thinking. He was one of those rare people who literally changed the world. ... He was the lead author of the 'Proclamation for the Separation of School and State,' which states simply 'I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government involvement in education.'

This diagram [derived from David Nolan's] makes things clearer, but it fails to incorporate the left/right view as simply left and right ... But what if we follow Marshall Fritz (Bergland 1990, pp. 22-23) and rotate the diagram 45 degrees anti-clockwise? ... With this distinction, libertarians can position themselves on a Political Compass. ["Political map" is the expression Marshal Fritz uses.] ... Marshall Fritz offers a quiz with only five very general questions for each axis.

'In America, we don't use the government to run the churches; and, considering our diversity, we have admirable religious harmony,' observes Marshall Fritz in the July issue of The Freeman. Fritz believes that 'this "hands-off" policy is America's greatest gift to the human race.' He recommends that the policy be extended to the field of education, as well, calling for 'the separation of school and state.' A former Christian school principal, Fritz is the founder of the Separation of School and State Alliance, which advocates the dismantling of the public school system in America.

Marshall Fritz, founder of the Separation of School and State Alliance ..., likes to tell the story of government social workers in the San Joaquin valley ... Faced with budget cuts ..., the social workers made the case to those poor laborers that they would have more real income on welfare than they were earning by the sweat of their brows. Fritz tells that outrageous (but true) story to illustrate the effect of vouchers on families who already send their children to private schools, namely, vouchers would encourage educationally self-reliant families to become dependent upon government.

David Nolan felt politically homeless. His friend Jill had a nice home on the political left, where she favored free speech and other personal freedoms. And his friend Harry had a comfortable home on the right-wing, where he strongly favored free enterprise. But David agreed with both ... A high score shows that you value responsibility and believe that free-market competition is better for people than central planning by government. You tolerate variation in economic success, as long as people who acquire wealth do so by honest production and trade, not by theft, cheating or political pull.

I would like all children to enjoy the benefits of schools chosen by their parents. If we learn a lesson from our own history it could be possible in very short time. In America we don't use the government to run the churches, and considering our diversity, we have admirable religious harmony ...
[G]overnment must be prevented from compelling school funding, attendance, and curriculum. Only with the separation of school and state can we re-establish parental responsibility, protect parents' rights, and enable schools, teachers, and students to flourish in an environment of educational freedom.

After liberating schools from the government, what will they be like? Schools will reflect the variety in American society, just like restaurants and groceries do today ...
[G]overnment schools ridicule parents who smoke, resist recycling, spank, own guns, ... or teach chastity and traditional family values. After seven years of leading the Alliance, having addressed thousands of people in hundreds of cities, I'm now even more convinced that our only hope to strengthen the family, restore respect for morality, and end the escalating violence of public schools, is to separate school from state.

Founded in 1994, the Alliance for the Separation of School & State is ... devoted to educating people about why schooling should be as protected from state interference as religion is ... Marshall Fritz, the Alliance's founder, is a man of big ideas, boundless enthusiasm and a hearty sense of humor, but he's deadly serious about getting the government out of the education business. After a long career with IBM, he started a private, pioneering school appropriately called Pioneer Christian Academy. Over the years, he compiled a considerable portfolio based on the experiences of the school.

Marshall Fritz is director of the Separation of School and State Alliance, a national organization he founded in 1994. By mid-1999, over 7,000 educators, parents, scholars, and clergy have joined the call to reunite schools and families by dissolving the bonds between schools and government ...
He has also refereed youth soccer and worked as a volunteer in a homeless shelter. Marshall was born in California in 1943 and earned a B.A. from California State University Fullerton in 1964. He lives in Fresno with wife of 35 years, Joan. They have four grown children and five grandchildren.