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).
Illinois: The Walton Foundation gave $3.8 million to Chicago schools last year to start up new charters, more than any other city (Chicago Sun-Times).
Ohio: A report from a liberal think tank finds some charter schools are staying open despite being ordered to close for poor performance (StateImpact Ohio).
Indiana: The odds don’t look good for a bill that would allow siblings of voucher recipients to also receive vouchers without first attending public school for a year (nwi.com) More from the Associated Press and Indianapolis Star. Ball State University considers closing some of the charter schools it authorized (nwitimes.com).
Utah: Charter high schools have some of the lowest and highest graduation rates in the state (Salt Lake Tribune).
Washington: The state Board of Education is crafting rules to govern the new charter schools that are expected to begin opening in 2014 (Associated Press).
Texas: State Sen. Dan Patrick, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, wants to make it easier to close underperforming charter schools and increase the cap on the number of charters that can open each year (Associated Press).
