Editor’s note: This commentary from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush appeared earlier this week on RealClear Education.
The past two years have shined a bright light on widespread inequalities in education. As state after state dealt with pandemic disruptions, we’ve seen painful reminders of what’s always existed: some kids have access to great schools, multiple options for learning, and abundant resources like computers and high-speed internet access, advanced courses, online classes, and modern buildings with science labs and excellent libraries.
And other kids are left behind, decade after decade, assigned to government-run underperforming and failing schools, without a chance for anything better. That’s painfully true in Michigan, where a student’s ability to move to a better school is limited by antiquated state laws that don’t serve the needs of each and every individual student.
Consider Michigan’s failure in teaching students to read according to the “Nation’s Report Card.” For a dozen years, Michigan’s 4th grade reading scores have been below the national average, and, in 2019, six out of 10 Michigan 4th graders were not proficient in reading. These scores touch all parts of Michigan, including the urban centers of Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids, and rural communities throughout the state. Math scores are below the national average, and there’s a growing achievement gap between white and Black students.
But why?
If we’ve learned one thing from the pandemic, it’s that our education system must be flexible and centered around students. A single, one-size-fits-all pathway for every kid will never deliver great results. A quality education that meets a child’s needs unlocks countless doors. It can break cycles of poverty, lift up communities, and help ensure all students can reach their God-given potential.
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Editor’s note: This article appeared Friday on The Center Square.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation partnered with Bursch Law to file a lawsuit alleging Michigan’s restriction on the use of public funds to pay for private education is unconstitutional.
Five Michigan families and the Parent Advocates for Choice in Education (PACE) Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the rights of Michigan parents to provide educational opportunities for their children, joined the lawsuit after conventional public schools frustrated them after the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiff Jessie Bagos’s school only provided virtual school for her young children for much of the last school year. She wanted other options for her twin boys starting kindergarten instead of sitting in front of a screen.
“To have the option to choose schools would be life changing,” Bagos said in a statement. “For everyone, not just us. Hopefully this lawsuit can help with that.”
Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code allows state-sponsored savings plans to fund higher education expenses. Michigan’s plan is Michigan’s Education Savings Plan (MESP). Bagos funded an MESP and wants to spend that money on their children’s private, religious school tuition.
But Michigan’s Blaine Amendment, passed in 1970, prohibits using public funds for private education. If Bagos spends MESP money on private, religious education, the Blaine Amendment will reverse Michigan’s tax deduction the parents received upon contribution.
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Alabama: Applications for the state's new tax credit scholarship program are now open (Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund, WTVY)
Arizona: Three charter schools will be shut down for poor performance (Arizona Business Journal).
California: The L.A. metro area has the largest number of students attending charter schools in the nation (LA School Report). Charter school growth booms in L.A. and San Diego (San Diego Union Tribune).
Georgia: NPR asks "what is school choice?" (WABE). Hall County ranks No. 1 in the nation for charter school enrollment growth (Access North Georgia). Charter school enrollment grows in the state as more schools request permission to convert to charters (Atlanta Journal Constitution).
Florida: If Catholic schools were a district, they'd be the 9th largest in the state (redefinED). 80,000 students attend charter schools in Miami-Dade, making it the 6th largest (numerically) metro charter area in the nation (Miami Herald). A virtual charter school is approved to set up shop in Pinellas County (Tampa Bay Tribune). Across the bay in Hillsborough, a school board votes down a charter school request by MacDill Air Force Base (redefinED). The number of students using "opportunity scholarships" to leave poor-performing schools doubles in Duval County (Florida Times Union). Florida Virtual School offers students flexibility (Townhall.com).
Indiana: Gov. Mike Pence wants vouchers for pre-k students (Indianapolis Star, Greenfield Reporter). Pence thinks charter school networks should be allowed to operate more like school districts (Courier-Journal). Public school districts will have to hold lotteries for public school choice if demand exceeds supply (Education Week). Gary ranks 5th in the nation for charter school enrollment (Post Tribune).
Louisiana: The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is the most influential organization on education reform, according to a Brookings Institute study (Times Picayune). New Orleans has the largest percentage of students attending charter schools of any city in the nation...for 8 years in a row (Times Picayune). (more…)
California: The award-winning American Indian Model charter schools face closure after failing to fix problems with financial oversight that resulted in $3.8 million of questionable expenses (The Oakland Tribune).
Wisconsin: Three former state House speakers push for a voucher expansion (Associated Press). School choice options continue to grow with proponents pointing to achievement gains (WisconsinReporter).
Indiana: Ball State University pulls its sponsorship of seven struggling charter schools, likely ensuring their closure (Associated Press). School choice supporters press for an expansion of the state's voucher program (NWI.com).
Texas: A school choice proponent testifies that a tax credit scholarship program would save the state $2 billion a year (Houston Chronicle). More from San Antonio Express News. Waco-area school boards support a resolution opposing any publicly funded private school choice options for the state (Waco Tribune Herald).
Michigan: The legislative path for Gov. Rick Snyder's school choice expansion plans remain murky (MLive.com).
Tennessee: A school board member in Knox County tries unsuccessfully to convince his colleagues that private school vouchers are a good thing (Knoxnews.com). State lawmakers scrutinize Tennessee Virtual Academy, operated by K12 Inc., over poor test results (Tennessee Public Radio). Memphis charter schools are poised to grow - again (Memphis Business Journal). The NAACP pushes for more regulatory accountability for charter schools in the wake of complaints about one in Memphis (Memphis Commercial Appeal). Gov. Bill Haslam is expected to unveil his proposal for a limited statewide voucher in his State of the State speech tonight (News Channel 5).
New York: Twenty-four more Catholic schools in the state will close because they're not financially self-sufficient (New York Times). (more…)
Florida: Tony Bennett is selected the state's new education commissioner (redefinED). He tells reporters afterwards that he champions school choice first and foremost because of the social justice component (redefinED). A new group headed by T. Willard Fair, co-founder of the state's first charter school, aims to create a pipeline of black executives and entrepreneurs to help lead private and charter schools (redefinED). The Miami-Dade school district ranks No. 10 in the country for school choice, according to a new report from Brookings (redefinED). A Catholic school in Tampa is at the heart of a University of Notre Dame project to revitalize Catholic schools, particularly for Hispanic students. (redefinED).
Louisiana: Voucher parents are worried in the wake of the legal ruling that puts the program in limbo (advertiser.com). Gov. Bobby Jindal makes a pitch for vouchers at a Brookings Institution event in Washington D.C. (Huffington Post).
Washington: More than 150 teachers, parents and administrators attend a charter school conference in the wake of the successful passage of a charter school ballot initiative (Tacoma News Tribune). (Full disclosure: The conference was sponsored by the Washington Charter School Research Center, which was founded by Jim and Fawn Spady. Fawn Spady chairs the board of directors at the American Center for School Choice, which co-hosts this blog.)
Michigan: The education adviser to Gov. Rick Snyder presents the governor's sweeping public school choice proposal to business and education leaders (Grand Rapids Business Journal). (more…)
Oklahoma: The state supreme court tosses out a lawsuit challenging a voucher program for special needs students, saying the two school districts that filed suit did not have standing (The Oklahoman).
Indiana: The state supreme court hears arguments over the constitutionality of the state's fledgling voucher program (Indianapolis Star). Enrollment in the state's voucher program skyrockets in year two (Huffington Post).
Colorado: The Colorado State Court of Appeals hears the appeal over the Douglas County voucher program (Denver Post).
Louisiana: The state's voucher program heads to court this week (thetowntalk.com).
Georgia: In the wake of election victories, school choice supporters aim to expand the state's tax credit scholarship program (Atlanta Journal Constitution).
Florida: Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford creates a new school choice and innovation committee to ensure choice issues don't get lost in the general education discussion (redefinED). (more…)
Texas: School choice critics claim vouchers threaten high school football because they will allegedly drain money from public schools (The Texas Tribune). More from KHOU.com. Response from redefinED.
Florida: State education leaders seek to double enrollment in charter schools over the next six years, from about 180,000 now to 360,000 (Orlando Sentinel). More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida private schools that accept tax credit scholarships are part of a project to boost parental engagement (redefinED).
Alabama: Supporters say there is little chance a charter school bill will be back in the Legislature next year (Anniston Star).
Michigan: A newspaper poll finds only 1 in 5 Detroit residents think the school district offers the best learning options for their kids (Detroit News).
Louisiana: State Superintendent John White proposes new rules for private and parochial schools that want voucher dollars (Baton Rouge Advocate). He touts the new voucher program in a visit to New Orleans (wwltv.com). Arguments in the constitutional challenge against the program are postponed until next month (Associated Press). One district sees growth in its virtual school option (Baton Rouge Advocate.) (more…)
New York: For the third year in a row, New York City charter schools outperform traditional public schools, drawing praise from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured here (New York Times). More from the New York Daily News.
New Jersey: The state teachers union fights new charters even as it attempts to unionize charter school teachers (NJ Spotlight). State education officials approve nine new charters, but reject 10 and postpone 13 (NJSpotlight), including a full-time virtual charter. (NJ.com)
Florida: State education officials reject appeals from three virtual charter schools seeking to open in the Miami-Dade school district. (Miami Herald) Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson defends charter schools at a town hall meeting (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). In a key Democratic primary in South Florida, state senate candidates differ over support for vouchers and tax credit scholarships. (Palm Beach Post)
Louisiana: Students and schools in the state's new voucher program are not likely to face the same regulatory accountability measures as public schools (Baton Rouge Advocate). A nonpartisan watchdog group recommends state education officials seek legislative guidance as they craft accountability rules (Associated Press). The state teachers union pans the academic results of the state's first all-grades, on-line charter school, but the school fires back with accusations of cherry picking (Baton Rouge Advocate).
Michigan: Democrats fear vouchers will be part of Gov. Rick Snyder's plans to overhaul school funding (MLive.com).
Washington: Gubernatorial candidates Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee agree on many aspects of education policy, but disagree on charter schools. (Seattle Times)
Elsewhere: Study finds students in K12 Inc. virtual charter schools are lagging behind their peers in traditional public schools. (Washington Post)
New Hampshire: The state legislature overrides Gov. John Lynch's veto of a tax credit scholarship bill. (Manchester Union-Leader)
North Carolina: School choice leaders throw in the towel on a legislative proposal for tax credit scholarships. (Associated Press) A judge rules that a virtual charter school cannot open, siding with the state board of education, which had refused to consider the proposed school's application. (Raleigh News & Observer)
New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie says it's unlikely that a school voucher bill will move in the state legislature this year. (NJ Spotlight)
Florida: Faced with declining enrollment and increased competition from school choice, the Broward County School Board wants to open its own charter schools. (South Florida Sun Sentinel) Meanwhile, the state Charter School Appeal Commission sides with four of five charter school applications rejected by the Palm Beach County School Board. (Palm Beach Post)
Pennsylvania: A well-funded political action committee and the Philadelphia Archdiocese are pushing hard to expand the state's tax credit scholarship program. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Texas: The state's main charter school group filed suit against the state, charging it with short-changing charters on facilities funding and arbitrarily capping the number of charters that can open. (Houston Chronicle) (more…)
