Alabama: The Alabama Education Association sued to stop the state’s education tax-credit program but a parent steps forward to try and block the suit with the help of the Institute for Justice (Associated Press).
Arizona: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice surveys parents using education savings accounts and finds they’re happy with the program (Friedman Foundation).
Colorado: Two internet radio talk show hosts speak in Douglas County against school vouchers and “corporate” education reform (Lone Tree News).
D.C.: The government shutdown threatens the funding of the District’s public school system including charter schools (Washington Times).
Florida: Tampa Bay area private schools are seeing enrollment growth thanks to a rebounding economy and school choice (Tampa Bay Times). GEICO donates $2 million to Step Up For Students, the non-profit that operates Florida’s education tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students (PR Web). The McKay scholarship program serves 27,000 special needs students in Florida (Tallahassee.com). A group is suing the state to get more money for public schools, saying it is unfair to devote resources to charter and virtual schools (Miami Herald). Florida Virtual School wins the first round of court battles against K12 Inc. over trademark violations (EdWeek).
Georgia: Atlanta area KIPP charter schools received a group charter allowing them to pool resources (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
Indiana: The state could be the No. 1 state for school vouchers if the growth continues (Indianapolis Star). Gov. Mike Pence talks education reform and school choice at the Education Nation summit (WNDU.com). A state report says voucher schools outperform the public schools but it is still unclear if the voucher schools are creating a bigger impact per student (Associated Press).
Iowa: A new survey by the Friedman Foundation shows a majority of parents in Iowa support having a school voucher program (Quad City Times, Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier). One local newspaper columnist calls school choice “insidiously popular” (Daily Iowan).
Louisiana: The state’s voucher program actually promotes desegregation (National Review). A Ruston area private school that was kicked off the voucher program sues, claiming discrimination (The Advocate). Parents in Lafayette protest two charter school operators seeking authorizing in the parish (KATC.com).
Massachusetts: Frontier Regional School District will now allow school choice students enrolling from other districts to use the district bus service so long as it is along existing bus routes (The Recorder).
Minnesota: Gary Orfield’s new report shows a 40 percent increase in charter schools operating in the suburbs with mostly white students (Minnesota Public Radio).
Missouri: Affiliates of the Roman Catholic Church in Missouri donated more than $300,000 backing a ballot initiative to allow tax-credit scholarships (Greenwhich Time).
New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Barbara Buono debate school vouchers (NJ Spotlight). Christie wants to see more competition in education with more charter and voucher schools (New Jersey Jewish News).
New York: Bill de Blasio’s hard-line stance against charter schools rouses nearly 20,000 parents and students who march in support of school choice (Education Week, New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal). Although de Blasio wants to put a stop to charter schools, more evidence emerges that they perform well (National Review, Hamilton Institute)
Oklahoma: Two years after school districts lost their case to overturn vouchers for special needs children, a group of taxpayers sue to stop the program (Broken Arrow Ledger, Newson6)
Wisconsin: The Journal Times editorial board believes the state could learn a lot on education reform from New Orleans (The Journal Times). Businesswoman Mary Burke is running for governor as a Democrat and supporters say she will contrast with Gov. Scott Walker on school vouchers (Wisconsin State Journal).
Nation: Last week Politico ran an article stating that there were little to no gains from vouchers despite an expected $1 billion in expenditures. This week several education researchers point out a few key elements missing from the piece (National Review, Education Next, American Enterprise Institute, redefinED). Parents reveal their strategies for picking the best school for their children (Alexandria Times). More school districts are refusing to pay for virtual tutoring by seeking NCLB waivers (New York Times).
