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: The state files documents to dismiss the Southern Poverty Law Center's suit against the new school choice program (Al.com).

Florida: A new private school specializing in special needs education will open in Sarasota, with the state's McKay scholarship program funding the $11,000 to $17,000 a year tuition (Bradenton Herald). After five years of declining enrollment, Catholic schools in Palm Beach County are seeing a rebound in student enrollment (Sun-Sentinel).

Indiana: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks at a church in Indianapolis and calls for more options for students (Indianapolis Star).

Kentucky: With nearly 10,000 students, the Catholic Diocese of Covington would be the third largest school district in northern Kentucky.  The diocese would like to see a tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students (Cincinnati.com).

Louisiana: The Department of Justice's lawsuit to block the voucher program is based on the enrollment of 570 of the 8,000 voucher students located in 22 districts under federal desegregation orders (Education Week, Washington Times, The Advocate). Gov. Bobby Jindal aired television ads slamming the anti-voucher lawsuit (Associated Press).

Maine: Three charter schools in the state claim success with their special needs student population (MPBN).

Mississippi: The state's new charter school board will operate on 3 percent of the revenue collected from authorized charters but the board has no charter schools yet and the state didn't appropriate a starting budget (Clarion Ledger, Fordham Institute).

North Carolina: The Charlotte area sees strong growth in charter school enrollment and has piqued the interest of more charter school operators (Charlotte Observer). Minority Democrats in the state legislature took a bold step supporting school choice, says Robert Danos, a former spokesman for the 11th District GOP (Blue Ridge Now). (more…)

Louisiana: Supreme Court rules that the funding method for the state's expanded voucher program is unconstitutional (The Advocate). Gov. Bobby Jindal calls the ruling a victory because it didn't dissolve the overall voucher program (The Times-Picayune). More from the Washington Post and Education Week.

North Carolina: The Senate approves a bill that creates a charter school oversight board (Associated Press). Another bill aims to provide funding for school innovation programs that link schools and districts with businesses, community colleges and universities (News &  Observer). A low-performing charter school pays its top administrator $187,000 a year and his wife, $120,000 (WCNC). Researcher finds charter schools are more racially segregated than public schools (WCNC).

Washington, D.C.: Demand for charter school seats seems to be highest for early-childhood programs and for schools rated high-performing (Washington Post). Education Chancellor Kaya Henderson introduces a new hybrid school that calls for a charter school to run a traditional school (Washington Post).

Oklahoma: Congressman Tom Cole introduces legislation to allow homeschool families a tax deduction for certain expenses (Associated Press).

South Carolina: The state receives 18 charter school applications for the 2014-15 school year (The State).

Florida: Private schools that accept tax credit scholarships look to improve parent engagement (redefinED). Digital learning bill calls for study of course-choice options (redefinED). Legislators approve bill that allows online learning companies better access to public funding (Miami Herald). (more…)

Indiana: The state supreme court rules vouchers constitutional (Indianapolis Star). The decision could set a precedent for other states with Blaine amendments (ABC News). More coverage from StateImpact Indiana, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post. In the ruling's aftermath, the Senate Education Committee approves a proposal to expand the program in one way (RTV6), but not as far as originally proposed (Indianapolis Star). Republicans are split over how to grow the program (Evansville Courier & Press).

Tennessee: Anti-Muslim sentiment surfaces in the Tennessee voucher debate (Murfreesboro Post).

Georgia: Lawmakers increase the cap on the state's tax credit scholarship program (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

Texas: Education Commissioner Michael Williams says more school choice won't mean a mass exodus from Texas public schools (Associated Press). Lawmakers consider speeding up the parent trigger (Texas Tribune). Once an outcast education sector, home-schooling is on the rise (Amarillo Globe-News).

Louisiana: Voucher applications are up 20 percent despite legal uncertainty (Baton Rouge Advocate). More from the New Orleans Times Picayune. (more…)