Arizona: A charter school must repay $4.7 million in fees due to an inflated full-time enrollment count (Arizona Daily Sun). Charter schools are seeking $135 million in additional funding because they receive $1,100 per pupil less than traditional district schools (Arizona Daily Sun).
Florida: A state senator wants to restrict charter schools to specialized areas not currently served by district schools (The Florida Current). Charter schools learn to work with new transparency and open records rules (Daytona Beach News Journal). Homeschool students registered with private schools face fewer regulations ( WFSU). Florida has the third highest number of for-profit charter schools in the U.S. (Tampa Bay Times).
Georgia: Parents in Fulton County want school choice (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The state isn’t monitoring how charter schools spend public funds (Associated Press).
Louisiana: The state and U.S. Department of Justice must come up with an agreement to monitor the voucher program within 60 days (Heartlander). School choice wins, sort of, after DOJ changes its lawsuit to ask the court to approve transparency policies over the program (Huffington Post, Washington Times, The Christian Post, The Advocate). Forty-five percent of the students in Louisiana’s voucher program attend a private school that is rated D or F (Times-Picayune).
Indiana: Charter schools in Indianapolis, thanks to the help of the mayor, will expand and grow next year (Chalk Beat). Indiana experienced a five-fold increase in vouchers and some schools now enroll a majority of voucher students (WNDU). A school board member in New Castle asks “who is profiting from vilifying” public schools (Courier Times)?
Massachusetts: A Catholic private school must raise $500,000 by June 2014 or the school will be shut down due to dwindling enrollment and rising costs (CBS Boston).
Michigan: The state has the highest number of for-profit charter schools in the U.S. (Detroit News).
Minnesota: The Farmington school district is considering a new school choice option allowing self-directed learning (Star Tribune). A virtual school seeking approval to open gains public support (MetroWest Daily News).
Mississippi: Charter school operators have until March 14 to complete their applications if they want to open a new charter school in the state for the 2014-15 school year (Sun Herald).
Missouri: The Ferguson-Florissant School District superintendent publicly supported school choice, in disagreement with his board and local education establishment, and is later suspended due to “potential irregularities” in reporting attendance data (St. Louis Today). Future charter schools have until March 14 to complete applications (The Commercial Appeal). The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board says at least some form of school choice must be part of the solution.
New Jersey: A public school choice program is so popular the state department of education is looking to slow its growth (NJ.com, Teaneck Patch). The first semester of this school year isn’t even over yet, but parents wishing to choose a different public school for their child for the next school year must do so now before the application period closes (Press of New Jersey). The Newark school district will begin assigning students to public or participating charter schools next year in order to ensure charter schools take on more special needs and high poverty students (NJ.com)
New Mexico: The New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools celebrates top schools, teachers and students (Albuquerque Journal News).
New York: Incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio’s transition team contains no charter school advocates, worrying some members of the school reform community (New York Daily News). If more charter schools end up paying rent for district facilities, as de Blasio has suggested, that could mean big hits to operating budgets (New York Times).
North Carolina: An audit of the state’s public virtual school reveals errors in student enrollment counts and teacher evaluations (Associated Press). A gay rights group petitions to ban a private school with an anti-gay student policy from receiving taxpayer funded vouchers (Star News, WHQR).
Ohio: A non-union building contractors association founded a charter school to help high school students get a jump start on their apprenticeship, but representatives of the unionized association are crying foul (Akron Beacon Journal). Two charter schools were paid $1.2 million before the state shut down the schools (Toledo Blade).
Oklahoma: State lawmakers should push for parental choice, not universal pre-school (Edmond Sun).
Oregon: Two charter school founders agreed to pay the state $475,000 and to never operate another charter school again as part of a settlement in a lawsuit against the men (The Oregonian).
Pennsylvania: Public school officials complain that charter school funding is unfair (The Notebook). The legislature is considering changing the funding mechanism for charter schools and allowing universities to authorize or operate charter schools (The Times Tribune). The Black Alliance for Educational Options says charter schools aren’t to blame for fiscal problems in Philadelphia (Center for Education Reform).
South Carolina: Private school operators get closer to taking over the reigns of a struggling public school (Post and Courier). Charter schools are struggling to find good school buildings and due to lack of funds, many schools must do without libraries, cafeterias and gymnasiums (The State). Beaufort plans to offer public school choice where each public school provides its own unique offerings (Beaufort Gazette).
Tennessee: Metro Nashville school board member argues that restrictions on charter school growth are good for the students protecting the bottom line (The Tennessean).
Virginia: Outgoing Gov. Bob McDonnell says tuition tax-credit scholarships for low-income students are a necessity for the state’s education reform agenda (News & Advance).
Washington: A Texas charter school operator plans to open a school in Washington to educate drop-outs, gang members, disabled kids and addicts (Associated Press). While the state teacher union tries to stop the charter school law in court, the superintendent of Spokane public schools looks toward charters as one means of providing an alternative education (The Spokesman).
Wisconsin: A bill to report student test scores in private schools accepting voucher students is being reworked after private schools objected to some of the accountability methods (Beloit Daily News, WHBY, Leader Telegram, Journal Sentinel).
Nation: A senior fellow with the Heartland Institute says Common Core will deliver a “crippling blow” to school choice (Heartland Institute). Faith-based schools should highlight their success stories to garner broader support (redefinED). Check out these 38 high-achieving charter elementary and middle schools (Education Week). School choice advocates spread the word to help educate parents about their options (Watchdog).
World: Parents and policy makers gather in Stroud, U.K. to discuss the possibility of opening a publicly funded private school (Stroud News and Journal). Controversy grows in Suffolk, U.K. as school choice advocates plan a free school (publicly funded private school) in areas where there is no shortage of classroom space (East Anglia Daily Times). A short guide to school choice in Ireland (Irish Times).
