The education chiefs from Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Rhode Island and Indiana published a column today on The Hill identifying education reform as a "national priority and economic necessity" and called for greater educational choices for families:
... the goal of all reforms should be to create a student-centered education. Today, America can offer an unprecedented array of choices to customize education to ensure each and every child achieves their full potential for learning. Choices can come in many forms, including charter and magnet schools, inter- and intra-district enrollment, dual or early college enrollment, vouchers and tax credit scholarships for private schools and virtual schools. In an age where choices dominate every aspect of our lives, the time has come for greater choices in education.
As state legislatures begin their 2011 sessions, redefinED will be watching a growing number of measures in the works that would establish tax credit scholarship programs. Today, Virginia's House Finance Committee will take up HB 2314, which would launch the Education Investment Tax Credit. Tommorow, a New Jersey assembly committee on economic development will consider that state's proposed Opportunity Scholarship Act.
While many policy watchers and columnists are crediting this resurgence of "voucher" type plans to the mass of Republican governors and legislative leaders who took office in the recent elections, the following proposals are notable for the bipartisan support that has surfaced. "It used to be that anything resembling a 'voucher' was taboo among Democrats," said Tom Byrne, who served two terms as chairman of New Jersey's Democrat Party from 1994 to 1997. "But many have come to see school choice as a civil rights issue."
During the next few months, we will provide frequent updates on the status of these plans. Below is a list of bills that have been filed so far, with links to more information:
Indiana -- HB 1003 (School Scholarships): Primary sponsors: Representatives Behning and Bosma; referred to Committee on Education
New Jersey -- S 1872 (Opportunity Scholarship Act): Primary sponsors: Senators Lesniak and Kean -- A 2810 (Opportunity Scholarship Act): Primary sponsors: Assemblymen Fuentes, DeCroce, Schaer and Webber; up before the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
Pennsylvania -- SB 1 (Opportunity Scholarships and Educational Improvement Tax Credit): Primary sponsors: Senators Piccola, Williams; referred to education committee
South Carolina -- S 414 (Educational Opportunity Act): Primary sponsor: Senator Grooms; referred to Committee on Education -- H 3407 (Educational Opportunity Act): Primary sponsor: Representative Herbkersman; referred to Committee on Ways and Means
Virginia -- HB 2314 (Education Investment Tax Credit): Primary sponsor: Delegate Jimmie Massie; taken up today by the House Finance Committee
Parental empowerment and high-quality options will serve as the nexus of Michelle Rhee's policy agenda for her new organization, StudentsFirst.
Rhee unveiled the proposal today, breaking down what StudentsFirst referred to as "a call to action and a roadmap for state and local lawmakers ..." Anticipating the polarization her proposals are sure to bring, she prefaced that the agenda "has assembled policies that will improve public education without regard to their point of origin on the political spectrum."
Sure to start some dialogue is her embrace of "real choices" for parents, even those that publicly fund private options:
There simply are not enough good options to meet demand, and there will not be until policy-makers take bold steps to expand access to high-quality schools. StudentsFirst will stand for parental choice, recognizing that we can only increase the scale of quality schools through a mix of strategies. Parents must be empowered to place their children in the learning environment that will work best for them, in a high-quality traditional public school, a district-run magnet, a charter school, a private school, or even a virtual school. StudentsFirst will be agnostic about school choice vehicles as long as the schools deliver results for students.
