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Texas and charter schools

redefinED roundup: Voucher ruling in Colorado, tax credit scholarships in Alabama, course choice in Florida & more

redefinED staff March 4, 2013

Washington: The new Charter School Commission is attracting candidates from across the state and beyond, including Liz Finne, a lawyer and director of the Center for Education Reform at the Washington Policy Center. The governor and other leaders expect to choose nine volunteers by March 6 (Associated Press). A coalition of educators and community groups filed a legal challenge that questions the constitutionality of Washington’s new charter schools law (Associated Press). More from Education Week.

Colorado: With more than 80,000 students enrolled in 190 charter schools, charter leaders try to clear up misconceptions about the school choice option (Reporter-Herald). Douglas County’s Choice Scholarship Program does not violate the state Constitution, rules an appeals court. The outcome could have wide-ranging implications for whether vouchers can be used statewide (Associated Press).

Alabama: Legislators approve tax credit scholarships for students attending failing public schools (Associated Press). More about the “legislative bombshell” that Republicans called historic and Democrats said was a sleazy “bait and switch,” at AL.com. And the site offers a primer on the Alabama Accountability Act.

Idaho: Khan Academy will provide math, physics and history classes in 47 public, private and charter schools this fall, making Idaho the nation’s first proving ground for statewide implementation of the free online educational content and teaching model (Associated Press).

Michigan: A report measuring charter school performance statewide calls the Eastern Michigan University-authorized schools the second worst system in the state. EMU says the report doesn’t take into account that the schools serve some of the state’s toughest communities (Ann Arbor.com)

New Hampshire: The governor’s budget calls for repealing tax-credit vouchers and diverting some of those dollars to charter schools (Seacoastonline.com).

Illinois: Chicago Public Schools chief vows to get tough with privately-run charter schools, holding them accountable for poor academic performance (Chicago Tribune). Meanwhile, the Board of Education approves the renewal of 30 charter schools, including the UNO network under fire for funneling contracts paid for by state grants to relatives of UNO allies and a top executive (Chicago Sun-Times).

Iowa: Home-school proposals, including one that would allow parents who are home-schooling their child to teach other, unrelated children, are raising concerns. The measure would allow such parents to teach driver’s education, a move proponents say would help home-schoolers who often find it difficult to enroll in the course. But critics argue only specially-trained instructors, as state law requires, should be teaching students how to drive (RadioIowa).

New Jersey: Gov. Christie is making one more run at vouchers, calling for a modest $2 million pilot program that would award $10,000 vouchers to 200 low-income students in the state’s lowest-performing schools, giving them a chance to attend a public or private school outside their district (The Philadelphia Inquirer). A controversial law that lets student athletes in choice programs participate on sports teams outside their district without being subject to transfer rules is sparking debate (MyCentralJersey.com).

March 4, 2013 0 comment

Florida Schools Roundup

redefinED roundup: Charter school parents in New York, tax credit scholarships in Montana & more

redefinED staff February 11, 2013

redefinED staff

New York: More than 1,000 charter school parents rally in Albany to convince the state to let charter schools compete for state funding for pre-K (Fox23 News).

Montana: Lawmakers hear from parents and other child advocates who want their state to open charter schools and support giving families more choices, such as tax credits (Great Falls Tribune). Bills to create a tax credit scholarship program pass out of committees on mostly party line votes (Helena Independent Record). More from the Billings Gazette.

Ohio: Half the students in the state would be eligible for private school vouchers under an expansion proposed by Gov. John Kasich to include all low-income children (ClevelandLeader.com).

Texas: House Speaker Joe Straus warns the Senate that it might not want to go “full bore” on a school voucher bill, calling it an “exercise in futility” (Dallas Morning News). Four groups aiming to open charter schools next year turn in applications that have material copied from other applications (Dallas Morning News).

Florida: The Florida House approved a bill that makes it easier for charter schools to grow, but calls for increased accountability (redefinED). The bill also gives charters greater access to district facilities, something one school official said would be a “logistical nightmare” (Palm Beach Post). More from Tallahassee Democrat. Private schools can apply to administer the FCAT, but, so far, only two have (Orlando Sentinel).

February 11, 2013 0 comment

redefinED roundup: Vouchers in Tennessee, tax credit scholarships in Mississippi & more

redefinED staff February 4, 2013

redefinED staff

Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam proposes a voucher that’s limited to low-income students in low-performing schools, with additional state funding for those schools to boot (KnoxNews). More from timesfreepress.com and Nashville Public Radio. Haslam reiterates that his proposal won’t affect funding for public schools (Nooga.com). Both supporters and opponents find details to criticize (KnoxNews). Haslam’s administration is also backing a bill that would cap enrollment at a virtual charter school run by K12 Inc, reports timesfreepress.com.

Florida: At a National School Choice Week event, new Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett gives some school districts credit for expanding public options such as magnet schools and career academies (redefinED).

Louisiana: The teachers union in New Orleans asks for the names of teachers in the city’s charter schools in the hopes of organizing them (The Lens).

Arkansas: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush makes an appearance during National School Choice Week, urging lawmakers to expand charter schools and other choice options and calling education reform both the civil rights and economic issue of our time (Associated Press). More from the Arkansas Press-Gazette.

Virginia: Democratic lawmakers kill a charter school bill and snub their party’s national platform in the process (Watchdog.org). More from the Associated Press. A bill to allow home-schoolers to play sports in public schools – a so-called “Tebow” bill – passes the House but must still clear the Senate (Associated Press).

Georgia: The state charter schools commission holds its first meeting since being revived by passage of a constitutional amendment (Atlanta Journal Constitution). More than 1,000 charter school supporters gather to celebrate the amendment’s passage (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

South Carolina: State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais says at a National School Choice Week event that he supports a legislative proposal for tax credit scholarships (SCNow.com).

North Carolina: An expansion of charter schools brings debate about quality (Durham Herald Sun).

Mississippi: A bill backed by Gov. Phil Bryant to create a tax credit scholarship program clears the Senate education committee (Associated Press).

Texas: A charter school chief executive testifies in a trial about education funding that low state spending is hurting charters too (San Antonio Express News). The Amarillo school district joins others in supporting an anti-voucher resolution (NewsChannel 10). Gov. Rick Perry backs expansion of charter schools and a proposal for tax credit scholarships (Dallas Morning News).

February 4, 2013 0 comment

Blog Administration Catholic Schools Charter Schools Education and Public Policy Education Politics Education Reporting Funding Grassroots Parent Empowerment Parental Choice Private Schools School Choice Tax Credit Scholarships

Key lawmaker says stars aligned for school choice push in Texas

Sherri Ackerman January 22, 2013

Sherri Ackerman

School choice in Texas is getting a big push this year from a key lawmaker who has made it a top priority.

Texas Sen. Dan Patrick

“I’m the new chair of the Senate Education Committee and this is important to me,’’ state Sen. Dan Patrick, who has served on the committee for six years, said in a telephone interview with redefinED. “Here’s an issue that I’ve decided we need to push, but now I’m in a position that I can move it forward.’’

Patrick, R-Houston, and other school choice advocates in Texas are looking to create a tax credit program similar to the one in Florida that allows corporations to redirect a portion of state taxes to a scholarship fund in return for a tax credit. Low-income families who qualify can use the scholarship to help pay tuition at private schools.

Patrick has included the measure in an ambitious education plan that also calls for doing away with the 215-school cap on charter schools; incorporating a school rating system modeled after Florida’s A-F grades; and giving students the ability to enroll in any school within their district or in another district that has space.

In the interview, Patrick called school choice a civil rights issue and a “moral right.” He also offered a feisty response to an ad campaign, launched last fall by school choice opponents, that suggested “vouchers” would jeopardize Friday night football.

“With all due respect, that campaign is idiotic,’’ he said. “Texas would cut out math before they would cut out football.’’

Here’s more from the interview:

January 22, 2013 1 comment

Florida Schools Roundup

redefinED roundup: charter schools in Maine, parent trigger in California & more

redefinED staff January 14, 2013

redefinED staff

Gov. LePage

New Hampshire: The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State file suit against the state’s new tax credit scholarship program (New Hampshire Public Radio). More from Associated Press.

Maine: State Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen points to problems in the process after the state charter school commission rejects four of five applicants (Bangor DailyNews). Gov. Paul LePage tees off on the commission and the teachers union after the rejections (Portland Press Herald). Supporters of virtual charter schools are also upset (Portland Press Herald). The teachers union blasts LePage for wanting to lift the cap on charter schools (Portland Press Herald). Public school administrators say charters should have to feel effect of education budget cuts too (Bangor Daily News).

Kansas: Vouchers, tax credit scholarships and an expansion of charter schools are all expected to be part of the legislative discussion this year (Wichita Eagle.)

Kentucky: A bill is filed to allow a limited number of charter schools to open in the state for the first time (Kentucky Public Radio).

California: Parents at Desert Trails Elementary School finally succeed in using the parent trigger law to get a charter school to take over their school (Los Angeles Times). More from Hechinger Report and Education Week.

Georgia: A state representative is planning to file a parent trigger bill for the session that begins today (Associated Press).

Mississippi: Business leaders are backing the legislative push for charter schools (Associated Press). Racial divisions and mistrust are at play in debate over charter schools (Hechinger Report).

January 14, 2013 0 comment

Florida Schools Roundup

redefinED roundup: Tax credit scholarships in Texas, charter expansion in New Orleans and more

redefinED staff December 24, 2012

redefinED staff

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).

December 24, 2012 0 comment

Florida Schools Roundup

redefinED roundup: Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, Tony Bennett – all eyes on Florida

redefinED staff December 10, 2012

redefinED staff

Florida: Former Indiana education leader Tony Bennett is one of three finalists for the education commissioner job in Florida, with the state Board of Education scheduled to make a decision Wednesday (redefinED). U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., says in a major speech that expanding school choice is a key to revitalizing the middle class and proposes a federal tax credit scholarship (redefinED). Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist tells the Tampa Tribune he was wrong to support an expansion of vouchers (redefinED), then, in a move many expected as he positions himself for another run at governor, signs paperwork to change his party registration to Democrat (Tampa Bay Times). (Image from healthystate.org)

Louisiana: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan reiterates his opposition to private school vouchers during a visit to New Orleans (Fox 8 New Orleans). A district judge’s ruling on the statewide voucher program also threatens an initiative to provide students more choice by course (New Orleans Times Picayune).

Texas: School districts gear up to fight lawmakers on vouchers (Dallas Morning News). Education commissioner Michael Williams urges charter schools to better inform lawmakers about their work (Dallas Morning News).

Arkansas: A crowded education agenda for lawmakers next year is likely to include school choice proposals, including tax credit scholarships and expansion of charter schools (Arkansas Business Online).

Washington: A new parents group forms to fight the formation of charter schools in the wake of the state’s recently passed charter school ballot initiative (Seattle Times.)

North Carolina: The state board of education postpones a vote on rules that would make it tougher for virtual charter schools to open (Associated Press).

California: An appeals court overturns a ruling that potentially gave charter school operators in Los Angeles access to more classroom space (Los Angeles Times).

Connecticut: The Hartford school system gets $5 million from the Gates Foundation to strengthen its relationship with two charter school networks (Hartford Courant). The foundation distributed $25 million to seven cities nationwide (Washington Post).

Indiana: Seven more charter schools are coming to Indianapolis, more than half as many as Mayor Greg Ballard approved in his first five years (Indianapolis Business Journal).

Tennessee: High-performing district schools and charter schools in Nashville offer an opportunity for educators to learn what works, what doesn’t (The Tennessean).

New York: Black pastors in Buffalo support the conversion of low-performing schools into charter schools (Buffalo News).

December 10, 2012 0 comment

Florida Schools Roundup

redefinED roundup: Voucher possibilities in Tennessee, voucher phantoms in Florida and more

redefinED staff October 1, 2012

redefinED staff

Tennessee: A task force appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam leaves no doubt that a private school voucher program is under serious consideration (Memphis Commercial Appeal). More here and here.

Florida: Teachers unions, school boards and media outlets are distorting the aim of a proposed constitutional amendment, claiming it’s about private school vouchers (redefinED). A charter school task force appointed by the state Legislature considers a proposal to allow local school districts to levy additional property taxes for charter school capital costs (Orlando Sentinel). The Palm Beach County school district – one of Florida’s biggest – is beginning its public school choice application process for next year’s seats this week (Palm Beach Post.)

Georgia: The NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other civil rights groups are part of a coalition opposed to a charter school amendment on the November ballot. (Associated Press)

Louisiana: Private schools say their experience with the new voucher program has so far been good. (dailycomet.com)

Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Corbett and Republican lawmakers want to address funding inequities for charter schools. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)

New York: A study finds charter schools are undermining enrollment at Catholic schools (Albany Times Union). Charter school applicants come under fire at a public hearing. (Utica Observer Dispatch)

October 1, 2012 0 comment