Florida: Former Indiana education leader Tony Bennett is one of three finalists for the education commissioner job in Florida, with the state Board of Education scheduled to make a decision Wednesday (redefinED). U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., says in a major speech that expanding school choice is a key to revitalizing the middle class and proposes a federal tax credit scholarship (redefinED). Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist tells the Tampa Tribune he was wrong to support an expansion of vouchers (redefinED), then, in a move many expected as he positions himself for another run at governor, signs paperwork to change his party registration to Democrat (Tampa Bay Times). (Image from healthystate.org)
Louisiana: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan reiterates his opposition to private school vouchers during a visit to New Orleans (Fox 8 New Orleans). A district judge's ruling on the statewide voucher program also threatens an initiative to provide students more choice by course (New Orleans Times Picayune).
Texas: School districts gear up to fight lawmakers on vouchers (Dallas Morning News). Education commissioner Michael Williams urges charter schools to better inform lawmakers about their work (Dallas Morning News).
Arkansas: A crowded education agenda for lawmakers next year is likely to include school choice proposals, including tax credit scholarships and expansion of charter schools (Arkansas Business Online).
Washington: A new parents group forms to fight the formation of charter schools in the wake of the state's recently passed charter school ballot initiative (Seattle Times.)
North Carolina: The state board of education postpones a vote on rules that would make it tougher for virtual charter schools to open (Associated Press).
California: An appeals court overturns a ruling that potentially gave charter school operators in Los Angeles access to more classroom space (Los Angeles Times).
Connecticut: The Hartford school system gets $5 million from the Gates Foundation to strengthen its relationship with two charter school networks (Hartford Courant). The foundation distributed $25 million to seven cities nationwide (Washington Post).
Indiana: Seven more charter schools are coming to Indianapolis, more than half as many as Mayor Greg Ballard approved in his first five years (Indianapolis Business Journal).
Tennessee: High-performing district schools and charter schools in Nashville offer an opportunity for educators to learn what works, what doesn't (The Tennessean).
New York: Black pastors in Buffalo support the conversion of low-performing schools into charter schools (Buffalo News).
by Kenya Woodard
There’s more bad news this week on the charter school front in Indianapolis.
Fall Creek Academy and Fountain Square Academy face closure by the end of the school year after both schools’ applications were turned down by Ball State University, Indianapolis Star reporter Scott Elliott writes.
“The university offered an avenue for Fall Creek Academy to submit a new, fast-track application with changes to the school's management structure. If approved, that application would keep the school operating next school year with Ball State as the sponsor.
Fountain Square Academy has fewer options, but its board will be meeting soon to seek a way to keep a charter school in the Fountain Square neighborhood.
Ball State officials couldn't be reached Tuesday to explain the university's reasons for turning down the sponsorships.”
Both schools were chartered by the office of Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. Ballard had announced in May that Fountain Square would close next year, when a seven-year contract between his office and the school would end. In its final evaluation of Fall Creek, released last week, Ballard’s office found that the school met just five of 19 standards used to judge charter schools. Both schools are seeking to transfer their charters to Ball State, Elliott writes.
Fountain Square’s possible closing is an especially thorny issue for the mayor.
If shuttered, the neighborhood will be “without a charter school option, something Ballard had promised to try to avoid. Beth Bray, who heads the city's charter school office, said there are no proposals for a new Fountain Square school.”
The news of both schools follows last week's announcement that another charter school sponsored by the mayor's office, Stonegate Early College High School, would close because of financial troubles.
