Four Florida school districts again rank in the Top 25 big districts nationally when it comes to providing meaningful school choice, according to the latest annual report from the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution.

The Duval County and Miami-Dade County school districts tied at No. 13, the report says, while the Pinellas County School District comes in at No. 19. All three districts earned C+ grades. The Brevard County School District was one of eight Florida districts to earn a C, coming in at No. 22.

The rankings are based on 13 categories, including the breadth and quality of learning options, including charter schools, magnet schools and virtual courses, and the accessibility of private schools through vouchers and tax credit scholarships. The think tank also looked at how well districts close or restructure undersubscribed schools; if they provide comparative data to parents; and whether they provide transportation to choice schools. (See the scoring guide here.)

There wasn’t much fluctuation from last year’s rankings, when Miami-Dade came in No. 10. The Recovery School District in New Orleans was again No. 1 (with an A), followed by New York City (with an A-). Denver climbed from No. 24 to No. 5 after moving to a common application for all public schools, including charters.

In all, 14 Florida districts are on the list. Thirty-four districts nationwide received F grades, including Osceola in Central Florida. (See scoring for each district here.) (more…)

Texas: State lawmakers propose an ambitious school choice expansion plan that includes a tax credit scholarship for low-income students and the lifting of a cap on charter schools (Dallas Morning News). More from the Austin American Statesman and San Antonio Express-News.

Tennessee: A key state lawmaker, House Speaker Beth Harwell, says the legislature will consider a statewide charter school authorizer (The Tennessean). Area businesses help push growth of charters in the Nashville area (The Tennessean). Gov. Bill Haslam gives mixed signals on the possibility of voucher legislation next year (Knoxville News-Sentinel). More from the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Louisiana: The Recovery School District in New Orleans is moving towards an all-charter system (New Orleans Times Picayune). The latest enrollment counts show families who accepted vouchers are sticking with their schools (Alexandria Town Talk).

North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools superintendent Heath Morrison calls private, charter and traditional public school leaders together to discuss the possibility of partnerships (Charlotte Observer).

Indiana: A new study finds the state's charter schools are among the best in the nation when compared to their traditional public school counterparts (Indianapolis Star). But the poor performance of many charters under one authorizer, Ball State University, drags down the overall results (Indianapolis Star).

Illinois: Members of the Chicago teachers union march to protest a wealthy charter school supporter and ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Chicago Sun Times).

Ohio: Federal education officials are investigating whether charter schools in Ohio and three other states - Texas, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - are discriminating against students with disabilities (StateImpact Ohio).

Wisconsin: Possible expansion of vouchers, extra pay for low-performing schools with improvement plans, and more education funding are all on tap for the next legislative session, Gov. Scott Walker says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Georgia: A judge rules that the Atlanta school district must stop withholding money from the city's charter schools to help pay for the district's pension program (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

The Miami-Dade school districts ranks No. 10 among school districts nationwide in providing a wide array of school choice options for its students, according to a national report released today.

The Brookings Institution used its "Education Choice and Competition Index" to score more than 100 districts nationwide, using a complicated formula based on 13 categories. Among other factors, it  looked at whether alternatives were available, including magnet schools, charter schools, virtual courses, vouchers, tax credit scholarships and affordable private schools.

The Recovery School District in New Orleans came in at No. 1, and earned the report's only A grade. (Miami-Dade got a B-.) New York City, Washington D.C., Minneapolis and Houston rounded out the Top 5.

A number of Florida school districts rated relatively high, including Hillsborough and Pinellas (tied at No. 19) and Broward and Duval (tied at No. 22).

The No. 10 ranking for Miami-Dade, which just won the Broad Prize for student progress, shouldn't be a surprise in Florida. As we've noted before, the district offers a substantial number of options on its own, through magnets and career academies, and, among the state's biggest districts, has some of the highest rates of students attending charter schools and private schools via tax credit scholarships.

It also has a superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, who said this a few months ago: "We are now working in an educational environment that is driven by choice. I believe that is a good thing. We need to actually be engaged in that choice movement. So if you do not ride that wave, you will succumb to it."