This week in school choice: Behind the headlines

With much respect to Education Next...

• Mike Thomas contemplates the virtues of home schooling. We've looked at what motivates attempts to regulate is.
• KUNR starts diving deep on Nevada's education savings accounts. We've spoken with Seth Rau of Nevada Succeeds about the program's challenges and potential.
• The L.A. Times introduces Shavar Jeffries, the new leader of Democrats for Education Reform. We're beginning an in-depth exploration of the history of school choice support on the political left.
• The Atlantic explores the factors driving enrollment declines at private and parochial schools. We've covered the role of charter school competition, and the ways Catholic schools are transforming themselves to reverse the slide.
• Doug Harris notes both sides seem to miss the point when debating New Orleans' education overhaul. The Advocate says the numbers don't lie. We explored similar points last week in this space.

Meanwhile....

New Orleans may be a success story, but can it be a national model?

The Washington state Supreme Court rules against charters.

The debate over charter school back-filling continues.

The "what works?" approach comes to ed tech.

Charter schools in Maine are near capacity.

The Wall Street Journal inveighs against the ACLU's attack on Nevada's ESA program.

Indianapolis launches a charter school design challenge.

Quote of the Week

"You should have to work hard for babies. You should be changing babies' lives."

-Shavar Jeffries, on the virtues of competition in schooling.

We hope you enjoy the rest of Labor Day weekend. Please send tips, suggestions, comments and criticism to tpillow[at]sufs[dot]org.