Alaska: A lack of capital funding impedes charter school growth in the state (Anchorage Daily News). Gov. Sean Parnell wants to allow charter schools to have access to district transportation funds (KTUU, Associated Press). School choice will benefit rural students (Juneau Empire).
Arizona: A former high school teacher says vouchers for private tuition are like privately run prison systems (Ahwataukee Foothills News).
California: A virtual school student wins a school video contest sponsored by the White House (The Cambrian).
D.C.: Rocketship charter schools expand to the city (Education Week).
Florida: House Speaker Will Weatherford releases a bill to expand the tax-credit scholarship program (The Ledger, News 13, Tampa Bay Times, Associated Press, WEAR TV). School choice gets support from the Jewish community in south Florida (Jewish Journal). Private schools and parents may not want to take the FCAT (Orlando Sentinel). A lecturer at the University of Central Florida says private schools accepting tax credit scholarships should administer standardized tests to students (note: the law already requires tax credit scholarship students to take national norm-referenced standardized tests) (Orlando Sentinel). The Orlando Sentinel editorial board says private school scholarship students should take standardized tests (state law already requires tax-credit scholarship students to take norm-referenced standardized tests). So does the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board. The Tampa Tribune supports the expansion. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano says tax-credit scholarships have no accountability and reduce public school per-pupil spending. Charter Schools USA operates 34 schools in the state, but one "F" and one "D" rated school encouraged Orange and Seminole County school districts to repeatedly deny applications to expand (Orlando Sentinel). Broward County school superintendent Robert Runcie collaborates with charter schools (Education Week). (more…)
Alaska: Not all Republicans agree on changing the constitution to allow private school vouchers for students to attend religious schools (Anchorage Daily News, Education Week). Could private schools discriminate based on religious beliefs if they accept public funds (Anchorage Daily News)? The editorial board of the Anchorage Daily News argues that the constitutional amendment to allow public funding of private schools should be vetted in the state's education committee.
Arizona: A proposed bill in the state legislature will allow students eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch access to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts and increase the household income cap by 15 percent per year (East Valley Tribune, Arizona Daily Sun). Opponents of school choice are upset that the state superintendent is making low-income parents aware of all of their educational options, including the right to attend a private school (Arizona Republic, Washington Post, Tucson Weekly, Tucson Weekly).
Arkansas: Americans United for the Separation of Church and State complains about two charter schools teaching creationism in biology class (Arkansas Times).
California: The superintendent of LA public schools speaks favorably of school choice (Joanne Jacobs). The state leads the nation in charter school growth and enrollment (Contra Costa Times). The school district in San Diego makes requirements for charter schools more difficult if the charters want access to public construction dollars approved by voters (The Voice of San Diego). A city employee who vandalized a public school, which was being taken over by a charter school, may lose her job (Hechinger Report).
Connecticut: Public support grows for a new charter school in Bridgeport (Connecticut Post).
Florida: After failing to get a public middle school built in the neighborhood, parents in Woodville now support a proposed charter middle school (Tallahassee Democrat). Some members of the Florida legislature want to add a FCAT testing requirement to school choice students (Orlando Sentinel). The state saw the 4th highest growth in charter school enrollment nationwide (Palm Beach Post). School choice and civil rights takes center stage at a debate on education (South Florida Times). The Palm Beach Post editorial board favors requiring charter schools to post a $250,000 bond in case they close or are shut down. U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) visits a private school serving low-income tax-credit scholarship students to talk about school choice (redefinED, Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Creative Loafing). Potential changes to the state's tax-credit program may be coming, including partial scholarships and sales tax credits (Tampa Bay Times). The state's tax credit scholarship program provides opportunities to disadvantaged students in the state (WEAR TV). (more…)
Alabama: The state releases the new list of "failing schools" where assigned students may seek transfers to other public or private schools (Education Week). The Birmingham Public School District seeks waivers from the state to allow some schools to operate more like charters (AL.com).
Alaska: Will 2014 be the year school choice reaches Alaska (Peninsula Clarion)?
Arizona: A school board member in Gilbert hopes to create a voucher program modeled after the one in Douglas Co., Colo. (AZ Central). A charter school organization plans 25 new schools for low-income areas in south and central Phoenix (New York Times, Center for Education Reform).
Arkansas: In response to a charter school controversy in Texas, the state education commissioner states that charter schools in the state must follow state science standards (Arkansas Times).
California: The state misses out on an opportunity for school choice (OC Register). Two leaders of a group resisting efforts to convert a public school into a charter school plead 'not guilty' to charges of vandalism (LA Times).
Connecticut: Parents attend a public school choice fair but some critics argue that school choice leads to more inequality for those left behind (The Connecticut Mirror).
D.C.: A judge rules that defendants, in a case involving a charter school run afoul of the D.C. Nonprofit Corporations Act, will not be dismissed (Washington Post).
Florida: Founders of an abruptly shuttered private school in Milwaukee turn up in Florida with a new private school (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The Brookings Institution gave Polk County a "C" rank on school choice (The Ledger). A public boarding school for underserved children school operated by the SEED Foundation plans to open this fall (redefinED). With a looming fiscal crisis ahead, Florida can't ease up on education reform (redefinED). Lee County will allow free private tutoring to return to the district (News-Press).
Illinois: The editorial board of the Chicago Tribune says "it's time for school choice." Two charter schools with ties to Rahm Emmanuel are up for approval (Sun Times).
Iowa: A majority of residents favor school choice (Toledo News-Herald).
Indiana: A bill circulating in the state legislature would allow charter schools to cater to adult high school education (Indiana Business Journal). For some reason, vouchers for pre-k has not become a 'controversial' issue in the state (WLFI). The nationwide nonprofit Goodwill opens a charter school for dropouts (NPR). (more…)
Alabama: Former Gov. Bob Riley becomes chairman of the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund (Southeast Sun, Education Week). Step Up for Students President Doug Tuthill sets the record straight regarding false accusations about the program (AL.com).
California: Money may be the real motivator behind charter school conversions (Education Week, Hechinger Report). A man pleads guilty to stealing $7.2 million by establishing fake charter schools (Seattle PI). A charter school in LA partners with homeschool parents (Education Week).
D.C.: An official at the DC Charter School Board is accused of accepting $150,000 to help managers of Options Charter School avoid oversight (Washington Post).
Florida: More students than ever use tax-credit scholarships to attend private schools (Tampa Bay Times). The number of charter schools has tripled in Pinellas County over the last five years (Tampa Bay Times). Julie Young, president of Florida Virtual School, says virtual schools are sustainable and accountable (News Press). Florida Virtual School offers students flexibility if they need it (Watchdog). A Polk County charter school applicant appeals to the state, arguing the local district's rejection was arbitrary and "disrespectful" (The Ledger).
Georgia: School choice is more than just test scores (News-Times). Some Georgia lawmakers want charter schools to help pay for public school pension debt (Cherokee Tribune).
Idaho: A nature-oriented charter school becomes Blaine County's first charter (Magic Valley Times-News).
Illinois: Charter school critics in Chicago still oppose charter schools after the board takes community input from supporters and opponents alike (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader).
Indiana: The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette gives former state superintendent of public instruction Tony Bennett an "F" grade.
Kentucky: School choice leads to more local control and more fiscal responsibility says Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute (Paducah Sun).
Louisiana: Columnist James Gill says private schools which teach creationism should be banned from accepting vouchers (The Advocate). The state auditor says vouchers do not ensure a quality education for students (Daily World, The Town Talk, Education Week). Gov. Bobby Jindal criticizes the Justice Department's report on vouchers and racial segregation (The Advocate). A school choice opponent argues that choosing a school is too difficult so it shouldn't be an option (The Advertiser). A group in Lafayette forms to oppose charter schools (The Advertiser). (more…)
Alabama: $19.5 million in tax credit donations have been made to scholarship organizations (Yellowhammer News).
Arizona: A public school district leader says "choice is here to stay" and argues school districts need to highlight options available to students (Arizona Capital Times). Wealthier public schools may be getting a much larger benefit from the tax-credit donation program (Arizona Republic, KTAR). A study by the Goldwater Institute found that district schools were converting to charter schools for the monetary benefits and not to offer new options to students (Sonoran News).
California: Support school choice, the gift that keeps on giving (Capital News and Views). The California Charter School Association calls for the closure of six charter schools for poor performance (National Alliance for Public Charter Schools).
D.C.: Black, low-income and disabled students attending charter schools outperform their peers in traditional district schools (Washington Post).
Florida: The state's virtual high school earns a B (Orlando Sentinel). A Hebrew charter school gets approval in Hollywood (Miami Herald). Miami-Dade rejects a North Miami charter school application because the school would compete with district schools that recently received $200 million in renovations (Miami Herald).
Hawaii: Charter schools are good but they need better oversight (Star Advertiser).
Idaho: An online technical charter school plans to open in the state (Idaho Statesman). A popular charter school plans to expand into high school grades over the objections of the local school district (Statesman Review).
Illinois: Last year Chicago closed 52 schools but now charter schools wish to open in the district (Chicago Sun-Times). The Chicago Sun-Times supports charter schools, but worries that too many charter school openings may harm already cash strapped school districts. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits a Chicago area public school but refuses to answer comments about 21 potential charter schools wishing to open in the city (Chicago Sun-Times). To improve education in Chicago the money has to follow the student and parents must be able to pick the school (Chicago Tribune).
Indiana: The Kokomo Tribune believes the public needs access to information about how voucher dollars are spent, including the names of students and their scholarship award amounts. Christel House, the charter school at the center of the Tony Bennet grading scandal, sees its grade drop from an A to an F (Indianapolis Star).
Louisiana: A state auditor says the government doesn't provide enough information about private schools to voucher parents, while 41 percent of schools received improper payments (Education Week, Times-Picayune, Times-Picayune, The Advocate, Shreveport Times). The state releases a database on participating private voucher schools (Times-Picayune). Editorial writers argue vouchers are no guarantee of quality education and that schools need more regulation (The Advocate, The Advertiser). The U.S. Department of Justice's voucher suit could end up making segregation worse (Daily Caller). Recovery School District will be the nation's first all-charter school district in the 2014-15 school year (Times-Picayune). Charter schools refusing to rejoin their old school districts may signal distrust in locally elected school boards (The Lens). Journalists covering the voucher audit missed one important story: the program is growing rapidly (The Advocate). Two New Orleans area public schools are accused of cherry-picking their own students (Hechinger Report).
Arizona: A charter school must repay $4.7 million in fees due to an inflated full-time enrollment count (Arizona Daily Sun). Charter schools are seeking $135 million in additional funding because they receive $1,100 per pupil less than traditional district schools (Arizona Daily Sun).
Florida: A state senator wants to restrict charter schools to specialized areas not currently served by district schools (The Florida Current). Charter schools learn to work with new transparency and open records rules (Daytona Beach News Journal). Homeschool students registered with private schools face fewer regulations ( WFSU). Florida has the third highest number of for-profit charter schools in the U.S. (Tampa Bay Times).
Georgia: Parents in Fulton County want school choice (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The state isn't monitoring how charter schools spend public funds (Associated Press).
Louisiana: The state and U.S. Department of Justice must come up with an agreement to monitor the voucher program within 60 days (Heartlander). School choice wins, sort of, after DOJ changes its lawsuit to ask the court to approve transparency policies over the program (Huffington Post, Washington Times, The Christian Post, The Advocate). Forty-five percent of the students in Louisiana's voucher program attend a private school that is rated D or F (Times-Picayune).
Indiana: Charter schools in Indianapolis, thanks to the help of the mayor, will expand and grow next year (Chalk Beat). Indiana experienced a five-fold increase in vouchers and some schools now enroll a majority of voucher students (WNDU). A school board member in New Castle asks "who is profiting from vilifying" public schools (Courier Times)?
Massachusetts: A Catholic private school must raise $500,000 by June 2014 or the school will be shut down due to dwindling enrollment and rising costs (CBS Boston). (more…)
Arkansas: Gubernatorial candidates discuss education and school choice (Arkansas News Bureau, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette).
D.C.: Harmony Public Schools runs 40 charter schools in Texas and hopes to expand into the district (Washington Post). Critics contend gentrification, not education reform, is driving D.C's NAEP score gains but researcher Mathew Ladner says gentrification is only playing a small role (Foundation for Excellence in Education). The U.S. Government Accountability Office highlights weaknesses in administration and oversight of the Opportunity Scholarship Program (GAO, Washington Post, Education Week, Huffington Post, The Answer Sheet).
Delaware: The Appoquinimink School District hopes to enroll 465 students from outside the district (Middletown Transcript).
Florida: Private schools enrolling special needs students through the McKay scholarship program may lose up to $800 per pupil in funding if the student also enrolls in a class with the Florida Virtual School (redefinED).
Georgia: Hundreds of parents in Macon hope to enroll their child in a new charter school set to open in August, 2014 (NBC/WMGT 41).
Louisiana: The Obama administration is trying to stop the expansion of vouchers based on faulty logic and data not supported by research (National Review, Wall Street Journal). Many charter schools have been eligible to return to the Orleans Parish School District but none have elected to do so yet (The Lens). Another report shows vouchers did not increase racial segregation in Louisiana (this was the basis for the DOJ suit to stop vouchers in the state) (Times Picayune, Cato Institute). Republicans in Louisiana are reaching out to black voters with education and school choice (Times Picayune). The chairman of the Republican National Committee says Louisiana's voucher program provides an escape route for students in bad schools (Times Picayune). (more…)
Arizona: The Friedman Foundation profiles the parents utilizing the new Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program (Center for Education Reform). What is the difference between a district school and a charter school? A school district official explains (Daily Courier).
Colorado: Amendment 66 will increase taxes and add $950 million in funding to public education but also bring charter school funding nearly up to par with the traditional district school (New York Times, Durango Herald). Krista Kafer, the director of Colorado's Future Project, says spending more money on education isn't enough and the state needs innovation like school choice (Denver Post). Jeb Bush and Michael Bloomberg make big donations to the Denver and Douglas County school board races to support school choice candidates (Denver Post).
Connecticut: School officials in Hartford recommend the low achieving Clark Elementary School be converted into an Achievement First charter school (Hartford Courant).
D.C.: Romona Edelin, executive director of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, believes charter schools have revived public education in the District (Afro.com).
Florida: Gov. Rick Scott honors a private school teacher working at a Jewish school that serves 160 students from the tax-credit scholarship program (Sun Sentinel). Florida Virtual School has seen declining enrollments but its district-run franchises are seeing growth (redefinED). The Orange County School District is investigating a charter school which threatened to expel students if they failed the FCAT (Miami Herald).
Georgia: The new charter school commission approves one application and denies seven during its first meeting (Atlanta NPR, Forsyth News). The Georgia Charter School Association says that charter schools in the state are doing slightly better than traditional schools on most standardized tests (WABE 90.1 FM).
Idaho: Rural school teachers are turning to blending learning to supplement their instruction (Education Week).
Louisiana: The court hears the U.S. Department of Justice's arguments on why parents should not be allowed to intervene in the DOJ's anti-voucher case (Associated Press). The court ordered the DOJ to turn over documents related to segregation court orders over the last 40 years but the DOJ says the request is too burdensome and requests a delay (Times Picayune). The DOJ is trying to end a voucher program that helps minorities and reduces segregation (City Journal). Charter schools operating as "alternative schools" serve a very different student population and the state is still trying to figure out how to assess their effectiveness (The Advocate). (more…)
Arizona: The Arizona Education Association escalates its lawsuit to stop Education Scholarship Accounts by asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the program (East Valley Tribune).
California: The Daily Press in Victorville endorses school choice and joins the ranks of those questioning Politico's selective reading of the education research on vouchers (Daily Press). County zoning codes will slow Rocketship's growth in California (Mercury News).
Colorado: The Denver Post endorses the pro school choice candidates for the Douglas County School Board (Denver Post). Residents of Denver have two choices for school superintendent - support the ed reformer currently in office or return to the old ways with the challenger (Denver Post). The Douglas County voucher program is in limbo waiting for the state's Supreme Court to decide whether or not to hear a case challenging the program's very existence (Our Colorado News).
D.C.: Public school enrollment grows in D.C. but district charters grow even faster (Washington Post). D.C. will be implementing new measures to oversee charter school contracts with third parties (Washington Post).
Indiana: Columnist Mathew Tully writes in favor of school choice in Indiana (Indianapolis Star).
Iowa: A survey shows parental approval for education savings accounts is growing (Catholic Globe).
Louisiana: Amazing things are happening in post-Katrina New Orleans education (National Review). Seventeen of the 19 course choice programs were not approved by the NCAA and may impact the scholarships of college-bound high school athletes (The Town Talk). (more…)
Alabama: More than 50 students take advantage of the new accountability law which allows students to access scholarships to attend private schools (WSFA).
Arizona: The BASIS Tucson North charter school is one of the best schools in the U.S. and the world (Education Next).
Colorado: Candidates for an open seat on the Denver school board debate last week, with one arguing that school choice harms public schools and the other saying public schools need to have the same freedoms as schools of choice (Ed News Colorado). More than 300 people protested against Douglas County school board policies including teacher evaluations and vouchers (Denver Post).
Florida: Gov. Rick Scott presents Shine Awards for excellent teaching to several private school teachers and principals, including individuals representing schools accepting Step Up For Students tax credit scholarships (Gov. Scott press release). (Step Up co-hosts this blog.)
Georgia: The Georgia Supreme Court rules charter schools do not have to help pay off district schools accumulated pension debt (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
Idaho: Terry Ryan, head of the Idaho Charter School Network, wants to make Idaho the leader of rural charter school education (Idaho Press).
Indiana: A new law prohibits school districts from turning away transfer students for any reason other than capacity. As a result of not being allowed to "cherry-pick" students, some school districts are halting their open enrollment policy (Associated Press). Indiana's voucher program received 20,000 applications from prospective students (Indiana Public Media). State Sen. Vaneta Becker blames school choice as one of the causes for rural county budget problems (Tri State Media). (more…)
