Alabama: The Rev. H.K. Matthews, a civil rights icon now living in Alabama, says school choice is an extension of the civil rights movement (AI.com).

Colorado: The Douglas County School District offers private school vouchers for students but some residents, policymakers and journalists can't see anything but conspiracy theories (Our Lone Tree News). Fifteen new charter schools open statewide for the 2013-14 school year (The Gazette).

Connecticut: State Superintendent of Schools William McKersie wants public school choice and more digital learning for students (Greenwich Post).

Florida: Education leaders urge the governor to overhaul the school grading system again (which also applies to charter schools) (Tampa Bay Times). Florida Virtual School is facing hard times as program revenue drops 20 percent (Education Week). Charter schools are under scrutiny from the Department of Education after a ban on charging additional fees and requiring volunteer hours from parents (Tampa Bay Times).

Louisiana: The U.S. Department of Justice files suit to block the state's new school choice program, arguing it violates court ordered desegregation (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Advocate). The Black Alliance for Educational Options and Gov. Bobby Jindal both say the scholarship program provides a vehicle for low-income students to escape failing schools and that the Justice Department should drop the lawsuit (Education Week, Huffington Post, Weekly Standard). The Washington Post editorial board calls the DOJ lawsuit "appalling" (Washington Post). "Course choice" is underway in Louisiana (Education Week).

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Alabama: The Southern Poverty Law Center is suing to block the new school choice law under equal protections grounds (AL.com, NPR, Times Daily, US News and World Report). Essentially, they're arguing that if you can't help every child, you shouldn't help any child (HT to Jason Bedrick).

Florida: Step Up for Students, which administers Florida's education tax-credit scholarship program, received a $1 million donation from WellCare Health Plans, Inc. The contribution will fund 198 scholarships this school year (PRWeb).

Kentucky: U.S. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) appeared at an event with the Black Alliance for Education Options and Democrats for Education Reform to promote school choice and charter schools (Huffington Post, Education Week).

Louisiana: Education leaders in Baton Rouge are reviewing applications from charter schools to see who might be eligible to use some of the $16 million available for capital and start-up costs (The Advocate). The U.S. Justice Department is trying to stop vouchers from being offered in any school district still under court ordered desegregation (Associated Press, Times-Picayune, The Advocate).

Massachusetts: School choice students in the Berlin-Boylston area won't be getting bus rides to school anymore (The Telegram).

Minnesota: Charter schools are feeling more pressure to participate in accountability rating systems (Hechinger Report). (more…)

Alabama: The Alabama Policy Institute opposes the state proposed rules for the education tax-credit program. The think tank says the law does not prohibit tax credits from being used by students already enrolled in private schools, so long as the student is assigned to attend a school labeled as "failing" (Education Week).

Arkansas: School districts are declaring themselves exempt from a school choice law because they are still under court desegregation orders, leaving many parents unable to choose new schools for their children (KATV.com).

California: The Brandon Board of Education votes against busing 200 students who opted into a public school choice program to another school district (The Oakland Press).

Florida: Charter schools in the Tampa Bay area give parents lots of school choices (Tampa Bay Times). Florida's K-12 tax credit scholarship program (administered by Step Up for Students, which co-hosts this blog) saw a 25 percent growth in enrollment last year, while a new study by Northwestern University professor David Figlio shows students in the program annually gain a years worth of learning (Heartland News). More on the study from redefinED here and here. Rapper Pitbull started a new charter school in Miami in order to make education "sexy"  and "cool" again (The Atlantic Cities, NBC News).

Georgia: The Atlanta superintendent of public instruction recommends against authorizing new charter schools but is overridden by the Board of Education (Education News).

Indiana: Private schools near Connersville have seen a dramatic increase in students using vouchers since the program expanded (The News Examiner). Scholars in Indiana are still debating the constitutionality of the state's voucher program (The Times of Northwest Indiana).

Louisiana: The state's "Course Choice" program will receive an extra $1 million to eliminate the wait-list as the enrollment continues to rise (Associated Press, The Advocate). (more…)

Louisiana: Louisiana's Course Choice pilot program is full, with about 2,000 students enrolled in online courses and 500 more on a waiting list (Times-Picayune). More from The Advocate.

Connecticut: Department of Education officials approve the state's first local charter school, a Montessori school financed by the local education board and the state (New Haven Register).

Massachusetts: U.S. News & World Report ranks the Sabis International Charter School as seventh among the state's charter schools and among the top 10 percent nationwide (Republican).

Ohio: Ohio Gov. John Kasich signs a bill that allows levy proceeds to be shared with charter schools partnering with the Columbus school district (Associated Press).

Wisconsin: A Racine school board member and her husband, a former teacher at a private school that accepted vouchers, want the program eliminated (Journal Times). The Racine school board approves a resolution opposing voucher expansion (Journal Times). St. John Fisher Academy, a private high school that opened in Racine last fall using state voucher money, has reportedly not paid staff members since March and has seen student enrollment dwindle (Journal Times). Parents are eager to apply for the voucher program, but a recent expansion only adds 500 seats statewide (Greenbay Press-Gazette). (more…)

Pennsylvania: The CREDO study finds Pennsylvania charter school students lagging behind traditional public school students (Tribune Review). York City School District officials are going door to door in an effort to convince parents, who enrolled their kids in charter schools, to come back to the city's schools (York Dispatch).

Washington: Spokane Public Schools is taking steps to open the state's first charter school (Spokesman-Review).

New York: The Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation is awarding up to $1 million in seed money for new charter school sites (Democrat & Chronicle). Recent data shows graduation rates on the rise for students using Opportunity Scholarships (Southern Maryland News Net). Former Congressman and mayor hopeful Anthony Weiner wants to expand school choice by giving private schools equal standing with other options in the city's education department (Gotham Schools). During New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg's tenure, charter school funding has grown from $32 million to $659 million (New York Daily News).

California: Three American Indian charter schools will be allowed to remain open while awaiting an appeal to the state's Board of Education (San Francisco Chronicle). FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents seize records, phones and computers during a raid at the home of the former director of three Oakland charter schools (San Francisco Chronicle).

Hawaii: The state's 32 charter schools have signed performance contracts aimed at improving accountability (Star Advertiser).

Mississippi: KIPP schools inspire charter school advocates to look for nonprofits as operators (Jackson Clarion Ledger).

Florida: Charter schools are becoming an increasingly popular choice in Pinellas County, where district officials expect four more to open in the fall for a total of 22 (Tampa Bay Times). The state looks to have more students taking online classes (Tampa Tribune). The state's tax credit scholarship program is growing rapidly (News Service of Florida). Lee County schools is yet another district grappling with a new law that cuts funding to their schools when students sign up Florida Virtual School (WGCU). The state's chancellor of public schools tells district superintendents not to steer away students from Florida Virtual School (redefinED). Private school enrollment continues to grow (redefinED). Miami-Dade schools are investigating cheating allegations at the district-run charter school, Academy for International Education (Miami Herald).

Louisiana: Seven private schools barred from the state's voucher program were the most reliant on the assistance (Times-Picayune). (more…)

National. Uncommon Schools wins the 2013 Broad Prize for outstanding charter school network (Education Week). U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan praises charter schools for recent improvements but criticizes some for excluding high rates of students through disciplinary actions (Education Week). Tax credit scholarship programs are boosting Jewish day schools and yeshivas nationwide (The Jewish Press).

Washington: A coalition led by the state teachers union files a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's new charter school law (Seattle Times). The state's three biggest districts take different approaches to the new charter law, with Spokane most aggressively embracing it (Associated Press).

Virginia: The Norfolk school district considers converting a fifth of its schools into charters (Virginian-Pilot).

Louisiana: Only one of 117 private schools participating in the state's school choice voucher program is found to be in violation of financial rules (New Orleans Times Picayune). The state's fledgling "course choice" program continues to grow, with 1,500 students enrolled so far (New Orleans Times Picayune).

Mississippi: Charter school supporters consider the possibility of luring a high performing charter network like KIPP (Jackson Clarion Ledger). The process for starting a charter school in Mississippi is a grueling one (Jackson Clarion Ledger). One parent offers a testimonial about the power of the Nashville Prep charter school (Jackson Clarion Ledger).

Wisconsin: Gov. Scott Walker says he'll use test scores, graduation rates and other measures to determine the effectiveness of the newly expanded school choice voucher program (Green Bay Press Gazette). More from the Wisconsin State Journal. The statewide expansion involves a couple of twists on Walker's part, including a veto of language that could have been used to circumvent the caps (Education Week). Private schools consider whether to participate (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Critics say private schools that accept vouchers are shortchanging students with disabilities (Wisconsin Watch). (more…)

National. A new study from CREDO shows charter schools improving nationally, compared to traditional public schools, but with results varying widely from state to state. National coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, Hechinger Report, Charters & Choice, Associated Press, Huffington Post. State-level coverage in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Salt Lake City Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Detroit News, Newark Star Ledger, The Morning Call, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New Orleans Times Picayune.

National. Charter school waiting list nears 1 million nationally, according to a new survey from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (The Charter Blog). More from the Los Angeles Daily News.

Ohio. Lawmakers move to expand vouchers statewide for low-income students, beginning this fall with 2,000 kindergartners and expanding one grade level each year. (Friedman Foundation)

Wisconsin: Lawmakers expand vouchers statewide but with an enrollment cap of 500 the first year (Education Week). State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers criticizes the proposal (Journal Sentinel). Democrats predict a backlash (Wisconsin State Journal). Private schools in Madison consider whether to participate (Wisconsin State Journal).  Same with schools in the Wausau area (Wausau Daily Herald). A key lawmaker leaves the door open for another stab at a voucher for special-needs students (Wisconsin Reporter).

Indiana. Voucher supporters are giving a thumbs up to the expansion that begins Monday (Evansville Courier & Press). The Louisville Courier Journal raises questions about whether private schools have the capacity to absorb additional students.

New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie plans to sign off on the state budget, saying he'll bring back the fight for school vouchers next year (Newark Star-Ledger). Newark Mayor Cory Booker reiterates his support for school choice in his bid for U.S. Senate (Associated Press). Teachers and parents criticize the decision by Education Commissioner Chris Cerf to put the kibosh on a virtual charter set to open this fall (Newark Star-Ledger). (more…)

Illinois: The Chicago Teachers Union and privately-run charter schools railed against potential district funding cuts (Chicago Tribune). Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration  will partially restore funding to the United Neighborhood Organization so the charter school operator can finish a new soccer academy high school by this fall (Chicago Tribune).

Arizona: The Senate approves the expansion of a school choice program that adds kindergartners and increases funding for students who leave charter  schools for private schools (Associated Press). More from the Arizona Daily Star. The legislature passed a bill expanding the type of corporations eligible to participate as donors in the state's tax credit scholarship program and streamlined the approval process (Cato Institute).

Louisiana: Lawmakers find new funding stream for voucher program (Education Week). More from the Associated Press.

Indiana: A new state law will give high-performing school districts or schools more flexibility in designing their own curriculum, professional programs and schedules (Indianapolis Star). Another new law limits how much state aid charter schools can receive to target adult drop0outs (Associated Press).

Wisconsin: Wauwatosa School District officials protest the opening of an independent charter school in the city because it could directly compete with them for students and state funds (Journal Sentinel). Gov. Scott Walker says he is comfortable with the slow expansion of the school voucher program (Associated Press). Critics of the statewide school voucher expansion continue calling attention to campaign donations given to Sen. Alberta Darling, co-chair  of the committee that recommended the start of the expansion (Wisconsin Public Radio). State Superintendent Tony Evers speaks out against the state budget proposal to expand the voucher school system (Journal Sentinel). A traditional elementary school starts a special program for gifted students with great success (Education News).

Maine: Senate Democrats pass a bill that gives communities more input and control over approval of charter schools, but there still are more hurdles (Morning Sentinel).

Florida: Nearly every teacher and parent at Rowlett Magnet Elementary voted to go forward with plans for a charter conversion school (redefinED). (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…)