Policy Forum 

# Assessing Two Decades of Education Reform: Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom Turns 20 

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Date and Time 

October 18, 2022 2 - 3:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

[![d-ann-olsen1.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-09/d-ann-olsen1.jpg?itok=CO4AjWTH)](/people/darcy-olsen) 

[Darcy Olsen](/people/darcy-olsen)

Founder and CEO, The Center for the Rights of Abused Children. Former Director, Education and Child Policy, Cato Institute

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](https://x.com/darcyolsen) 

[![Casey Lartigue Jr. ](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-09/c-Lartigue_cropped.jpg?itok=9Zg_NnrB)](/people/casey-lartigue) 

[Casey J. Lartigue Jr.](/people/casey-lartigue)

Cofounder and Copresident, Freedom Speakers International. Former Policy Analyst, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute

[![Todd Zywicki](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Todd%20Zywicki.jpg?itok=GH375poJ)](/people/todd-zywicki) 

[Todd Zywicki](/people/todd-zywicki)

Former Senior Fellow, Cato Institute. Coeditor of the Cato book Unprofitable Schooling: Examining Causes of, and Fixes for, America’s Broken Ivory Tower

[ 

](https://twitter.com/ToddZywicki) 

[![Colleen Hroncich cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-06/Colleen%20Hroncich%20cropped.jpg?itok=OWGarcCl)](/people/colleen-hroncich) 

[Colleen Hroncich](/people/colleen-hroncich)

Policy Analyst, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/ColleenHroncich) [ 

](mailto:chroncich@cato.org) 

[![Neal McCluskey Cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-11/mccluskey-cropped.jpg?itok=I-QI0yJD)](/people/neal-mccluskey) 

[Neal McCluskey](/people/neal-mccluskey)

Former Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute

In 2001 there were only 12 private school choice programs in the country, including vouchers, tax credit scholarships, and personal tax credits and deductions. College prices were rising at “crisis” rates and calls for “free” government pre-kindergarten were regularly heard. During that same year, the idea to create Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom (CEF) was born, and in 2002 CEF came to life.

In this special event, we will examine the changing state of American education over the past 20 years. What has improved? What has gotten worse? What has CEF’s impact been? And what might the next 20 years have in store?

We hope you’ll join CEF analysts and friends past and present as they tackle 20 years of change in American education.

**Reception to follow**

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).