The Supreme Court may be poised to raise the educational standard for children with special needs.
Most of the justices appeared to think the “some” benefit standard was less than what Congress envisioned. But they also seemed to be struggling to come up with language for a higher standard that would be grounded in the law and clear enough to be meaningful and enforceable, but flexible enough to apply to children with widely varying levels and types of disabilities.
During the hour-long oral argument, they grappled with the differences between various levels of educational benefit: “some,” “barely more than de minimis,” “significant,” “meaningful,” “appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”
This case could ultimately affect millions of children. It has created some strange political bedfellows. And make no mistake: It could have serious implications for parental choice.
Confirmation (for real this time?)
After a slight delay, Betsy DeVos is expected to face an unusually contentious confirmation hearing. The rhetoric around her appointment has fueled a game of telephone conducted by propagandists. Yet there are substantive questions worth asking.
More choice is coming to education – it’s a question of when and how rather than if. President-elect Trump could accelerate these trends with well-crafted policies or slow things down if he creates a mess. But while markets are the best method for generating wealth, they’re imperfect tools for distributing it in American life. That’s a particularly important shortcoming in education because equity of opportunity is such a salient concern. In a choice environment, how does DeVos think about equity issues such as funding, means-testing programs,and helping communities deal with the fiscal impact of more school choice? Who should be responsible for ensuring that all children are in quality learning environments, parents or the government, or both in what measure? Rather than the gotcha questions that often characterize these issues, it would be revealing to hear DeVos asked about what she sees as the biggest problems and flaws with school choice (other than there is not enough of it).
In that vein, a federal lawmaker says DeVos would support further reducing the federal role in school accountability.
The newest generation of voucher programs is more publicly accountable. Mythology notwithstanding, DeVos had a role in that, as we’ve noted here and here.
Is her confirmation battle shifting the Overton window? Look at how people talk about New Orleans’ heavily regulated, all-choice public school system now.
Is this bad politics by Massachusetts charter schools or a sign the bipartisan school choice coalition may be fraying?
Everyone gets better when districts and charter schools work together. Maybe increased collaboration can make America great again.
How not to run a charter system, Pennsylvania edition.
African-Americans debate charter schools in Memphis and Atlanta.
Meet the left-wing professor who changed his mind on Milton Friedman.
A federal school choice agenda? Yes please, and quickly, or no thanks?
Yes, voucher fans can love public schools, too. Neighborhood schools can be a form of choice.
Finally, an important education trend piece from The Onion.
Quote of the Week
The only people who are really against school choice are the ones who already have it.
– Kevin P. Chavous, executive counsel for the American Federation for Children, on his organization’s latest public opinion survey. The poll finds strong support for educational choice among Latinos and millennials, especially.
Tweets of the Week
1. Getting a lot of education-related tweets at me today-just want to be clear: you can, & I am, be both pro school choice&pro public school
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 12, 2017
Wish school options existed when Robert Jr was alive. https://t.co/ThrK6lE1Ww
— Bob Cortes (@CortesBob) January 11, 2017
Betsy DeVos donated to an important organization that does good work and Democrats think it's terrible:https://t.co/mOjCk6mvRE
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) January 10, 2017
The Week in School Choice is our weekly compendium of news and notes from around the country. Sign up here to get it in your inbox, and send links, tips, pushback or feedback to tpillow[at]sufs[dot]org.
Today we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. He marched with labor leaders. His son marched with school choice supporters. His legacy challenges people of all ideologies and affiliations to be better and do better.
