North Carolina: The private school voucher bill continues to raise questions as it moves through the Legislature (Winston-Salem Journal).
Texas: The Legislature passes a bill that gradually expands the number of charter schools from 215 to 305 by 2019 (Associated Press). A new bill would expand the virtual school program and let high school students take up to three online courses a year, paying for additional classes if they choose (The Dallas Morning News).
Utah: Highmark Charter School offers basic business skills, including entrepreneurship, to students in K-8 grades (Education Week).
Alabama: Democrats say they’ll use the education act, which included new school choice tax credits to help parents pay for private school, to get Republican supporters voted out of office (Associated Press).
Arizona: A growing number of students are earning high school diplomas and college credits through dual-enrollment programs (Arizona Republic).
Michigan: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush talks about the need for parents and students to have more school choice options (Detroit Free Press).
Wisconsin: Lawmakers back away from Gov. Scott Walker’s plans for a statewide charter school board and voucher expansion (State Journal). Republicans are working on a deal that would increase funding for public schools and extend a school voucher program (Journal Sentinel).
Louisiana: Students using private school vouchers performed worse on state standardized tests than their public counterparts (Times-Picayune).
South Carolina: The Senate advances a bill that allows for the automatic shutdown of a charter school that receives the worst rating on federal assessments for three consecutive years (Associated Press).
Arkansas: The Arkadelphia Public School District declares an exemption from the Public School Choice Act, citing segregation concerns (The Daily Siftings Herald).
Georgia: State department of education rankings show that one out of every three charter schools performed better than district schools (Morris News Service).
Washington: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledges almost $800,000 to start a new charter school incubator to give the schools extra help with start-up planning (Associated Press).
Delaware: A provision in next year’s proposed budget will allow charter schools to continue holding on to money leftover from state funds they receive for busing (WDDE). Lawmakers consider a bill that would tighten oversight of charter schools, but allow more funding for those with proven track records (Associated Press). Gov. Jack Markell is signing a bill into law that creates a uniform application system for school choice (Associated Press).
Florida: A record number of charter school closings has the Broward County school district and charter operators calling for more accountability (Sun-Sentinel). Gov. Rick Scott and education leaders meet to talk about how to lure highly-successful charter operators to the state (Orlando Sentinel).
Indiana: Struggles for start-up funding and buildings have halted plans for new charter schools (Journal Gazette). School vouchers bring a savings, returning $5 million to state’s public schools (Associated Press).
California: A new bill proposes that charter schools fall under the same open meetings laws and disclosure requirements as school districts and other local government agencies (Associated Press)
New Jersey: The Newark Charter School Fund will put $10 million toward quality growth of charter schools to help bolster relationship with district schools (Star-Ledger).
Pennsylvania: Charter schools and their landlords owe the Philadelphia School District $762,000 in delinquent taxes (Philadelphia City Paper).
Washington, D.C.: School leaders are looking at traditional schools and charter schools sharing an enrollment lottery (Washington Post).
