Reflections on the Florida tax credit scholarship’s 15th birthday
Note: Step Up For Students helps administer Florida’s tax credit scholarship program. It also publishes this blog and employs its editor. I’m not a baseball fan, but I love the...
READ MORE
The teacher union’s amusing hypocrisy about Big $ in politics
Editor’s note: This post was originally published as an op-ed in today’s Orlando Sentinel. The state’s tax credit scholarship program is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this...
READ MORE
John Patrick Julien, warrior for parental school choice, RIP
Some days you hear someone say, “make the most of every day, you never know when it will be your last” – and you think, what a cliché. Then some...
READ MORE
Parental school choice spurs surprising reactions from advocates of the poor
As a white person from Iowa, I am always hesitant to write about the racial aspects of ed reform and parental school choice. I feel it is always better to...
READ MORE
Peter Flanigan, a guiding light of the school choice movement, R.I.P.
Peter Flanigan, one of the giants of the education reform movement, passed away last week at age 90. The Wall Street Journal featured this tribute in its Saturday edition. Peter unknowingly...
READ MORE
A longtime parental choice advocate backpedals like a cornerback in coverage
I was wrong. For 15 years I have dedicated myself to empowering low-income families to choose the best school for their kids. I was the strongest advocate for parental choice...
READ MORE
School choice movement can’t give grenades to opponents
Editor’s note: Tuesday’s New York Times story about tax-credit scholarship programs sparked a flurry of reaction from leading school choice supporters, including John Kirtley, who chairs Step Up for Students,...
READ MORE
Program design is crucial for tax credit scholarships
Stephanie Saul offered an indictment in the New York Times today of tax credit scholarship programs that have, in my opinion, serious design flaws. These flaws were almost guaranteed to...
READ MORE
Is parental choice really the enemy?
Back in December, some of the top elected and appointed officials in Seminole County schools used a public meeting covered by the Orlando Sentinel to blame Florida’s tax credit scholarship for...
READ MORE
The legacy of Ted Forstmann
When I graduated college and was lucky enough to get a job at a new venture capital firm, I heard about an emerging kind of investment, the “leveraged buyout.” Unlike...
READ MORE
A leader who is changing the conversation of parental choice
Every good leader knows how to spot an individual capable of transformational change, and Howard Fuller saw that in Gerard Robinson nearly 10 years ago. Robinson displayed the conviction to...
READ MORE
Facing a harsh truth when fighting for a bipartisan cause
Two different reporters contacted me this week, asking why I contribute so much to candidates who support education options for low-income children. Please allow me to share part of my...
READ MORE
Parent Revolution should empower parents with all options
It is wonderful to see the leaders of the Parent Revolution receive this recognition in the Wall Street Journal. I have admired their work from afar, and I had the...
READ MORE
The New Face of Choice in Virginia
Virginia is one of several states where parental choice advocates are trying to pass legislation to help low-income families. The challenges in this state are unique, because Virginia has an...
READ MORE
New Jersey is ready, Mr. Florio
Many of you are aware that the New Jersey legislature is considering a tax credit scholarship bill modeled on Florida’s successful program. Sponsored by some prominent Democrats, this bill has...
READ MORE
