Editor’s note: Our friend, John E.Coons, has been a regular contributor over the years to Step Up For Students policy blogs. Shortly after the 2021 release of his latest book, “School Choice and Human Good,” he was featured in a podcastED interview hosted by Doug Tuthill, chief vision officer and past president of Step Up For Students.
Today is Jack Coons’ 95th birthday. Jack is a legend in the modern education choice movement. Along with former student and longtime colleague at the University of California Berkley Law School, the late Steve Sugarman, Jack wrote two books, “Private 
Wealth and Public Education” (1970) and “Education by Choice: The Case for Family Control” (1978). These works inform and inspire our efforts to improve public education by empowering families to access the best learning options for their children.
Jack is a devoted Catholic, a passionate advocate for underprivileged families and their children, and a strong believer in the Catholic concept of subsidiarity, which means decisions should be made at the most local level. Hence, his decades-long advocacy for parental empowerment and education choice, especially for lower-income and minority families.
While I have been honored to do education choice work with Jack for the past 15 years, it is our friendship and his amazing humanity that I value the most. He is the ultimate Renaissance man and speaks intelligently about a wide range of topics.
My favorite Jack Coons story occurred one night while we were having dinner in Berkley with several colleagues. The restaurant was full, and the conversation at our table had wandered onto the theater and various show tunes. Suddenly, Jack burst into song and captivated the entire restaurant for about a minute with his excellent baritone singing voice. The restaurant burst into applause when he finished, and Jack calmly continued with our conversation as if nothing had happened.
He was just living his life. Happy birthday, Jack.
