May 25, 1975

NY Times survey of educ vouchers, 5 yrs after system has been widely proposed and debated as device for broadening educ choice and giving parents more input, finds idea is still having difficulty taking root; notes few school dists have accepted millions of dollars in Fed money alloted to test concept, under which family could shop for school services with voucher worth what local dist spends to educate each child; describes in detail how Alum Rock Union Elementary School Dist, San Jose, Calif, has developed, albeit highly compromised and ltd voucher system; notes Alum experiment, reaching end of 3d yr of operation, has revealed inconclusive results; says Alum experiment has dispelled fears of racial segregation since ethnic distribution in voucher schools differs little from over-all ethnic make-up of dist; notes arguments of opponents of vouchers, which focus on possible racial and econ segregation factors; cites critics' view that Alum Rock is not so much free mkt voucher system because only pss are involved; concludes that Alum Rock has not borne out assumption of voucher advocates that, given meaningful choices, parents would take active role and make intelligent decisions for their children; illus (L)

comment on resignation of Premier Solh following gun battles between Palestinian guerrillas and Phalangist party militiamen; Solh's replacement is Brig Gen Nureddin Rifai, who will head first mil Govt in Lebanon since independence (S)

Supporters of US spy missions, called Holystone, which are primarily probes of Soviet missile-firing submarines, say data are valuable in SALT talks and accords (S)

USSR launches Soyuz 18 spacecraft, with cosmonauts Lt Col Pyotr Klimuk and Vitaly I Sevastyanov aboard, for expected linkup with orbiting Salyut space station; chief of Soviet astronaut training Lt Gen Vladimir A Shatalov says mission is aimed at testing individual elements and systems of Soyuz spacecraft and to search for new possibilities in use of individual and group of spacecraft to accomplish scientific experiments in near-earth orbit; cosmonauts illus (M)

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