Pennsylvania: The CREDO study finds Pennsylvania charter school students lagging behind traditional public school students (Tribune Review). York City School District officials are going door to door in an effort to convince parents, who enrolled their kids in charter schools, to come back to the city’s schools (York Dispatch).
Washington: Spokane Public Schools is taking steps to open the state’s first charter school (Spokesman-Review).
New York: The Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation is awarding up to $1 million in seed money for new charter school sites (Democrat & Chronicle). Recent data shows graduation rates on the rise for students using Opportunity Scholarships (Southern Maryland News Net). Former Congressman and mayor hopeful Anthony Weiner wants to expand school choice by giving private schools equal standing with other options in the city’s education department (Gotham Schools). During New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s tenure, charter school funding has grown from $32 million to $659 million (New York Daily News).
California: Three American Indian charter schools will be allowed to remain open while awaiting an appeal to the state’s Board of Education (San Francisco Chronicle). FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents seize records, phones and computers during a raid at the home of the former director of three Oakland charter schools (San Francisco Chronicle).
Hawaii: The state’s 32 charter schools have signed performance contracts aimed at improving accountability (Star Advertiser).
Mississippi: KIPP schools inspire charter school advocates to look for nonprofits as operators (Jackson Clarion Ledger).
Florida: Charter schools are becoming an increasingly popular choice in Pinellas County, where district officials expect four more to open in the fall for a total of 22 (Tampa Bay Times). The state looks to have more students taking online classes (Tampa Tribune). The state’s tax credit scholarship program is growing rapidly (News Service of Florida). Lee County schools is yet another district grappling with a new law that cuts funding to their schools when students sign up Florida Virtual School (WGCU). The state’s chancellor of public schools tells district superintendents not to steer away students from Florida Virtual School (redefinED). Private school enrollment continues to grow (redefinED). Miami-Dade schools are investigating cheating allegations at the district-run charter school, Academy for International Education (Miami Herald).
Louisiana: Seven private schools barred from the state’s voucher program were the most reliant on the assistance (Times-Picayune).
New Jersey: Bishop Reginald Jackson, one of the state’s most influential black ministers, endorses Gov. Chris Christie based on his strong supporter for school vouchers (Star-Ledger).
North Carolina: The state Senate rejects legislation that creates rules to govern public charter schools, but scraps plans to set up a separate panel to oversee them (Charlotte Observer). The state school board will consider allowing a charter school to expand enrollment even before it opens for classes, making way for other charters to follow suit (News & Observer).
Wisconsin: Expansion of the state’s voucher system continues to draw debate from state leaders and public school officials (McFarland Thistle). Rocketship Education takes its first national expansion to Milwaukee, where it plans to open one charter school and up to eight more (Journal Sentinel).
Virginia: Norfolk schools Superintendent Samuel T. King is proposing a plan to convert 10 public schools into charter schools (WAVY).
Alabama: Rep. Jay Love, a leading advocate for tax credit scholarships and other school choice options, is leaving the Legislature for the private sector where he vows to continue education reform efforts (Birmingham News).
Nevada: A panel of educators looks at a recent Center for Research on Education Outcomes report that shows the state’s charter schools performed dismally compared to other states (KNPR).
Michigan: The state will see 32 charter schools open in the fall, including five in Oakland County (Oakland Press).
