Alabama: Former Gov. Bob Riley becomes chairman of the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund (Southeast Sun, Education Week). Step Up for Students President Doug Tuthill sets the record straight regarding false accusations about the program (AL.com).
California: Money may be the real motivator behind charter school conversions (Education Week, Hechinger Report). A man pleads guilty to stealing $7.2 million by establishing fake charter schools (Seattle PI). A charter school in LA partners with homeschool parents (Education Week).
D.C.: An official at the DC Charter School Board is accused of accepting $150,000 to help managers of Options Charter School avoid oversight (Washington Post).
Florida: More students than ever use tax-credit scholarships to attend private schools (Tampa Bay Times). The number of charter schools has tripled in Pinellas County over the last five years (Tampa Bay Times). Julie Young, president of Florida Virtual School, says virtual schools are sustainable and accountable (News Press). Florida Virtual School offers students flexibility if they need it (Watchdog). A Polk County charter school applicant appeals to the state, arguing the local district’s rejection was arbitrary and “disrespectful” (The Ledger).
Georgia: School choice is more than just test scores (News-Times). Some Georgia lawmakers want charter schools to help pay for public school pension debt (Cherokee Tribune).
Idaho: A nature-oriented charter school becomes Blaine County’s first charter (Magic Valley Times-News).
Illinois: Charter school critics in Chicago still oppose charter schools after the board takes community input from supporters and opponents alike (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader).
Indiana: The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette gives former state superintendent of public instruction Tony Bennett an “F” grade.
Kentucky: School choice leads to more local control and more fiscal responsibility says Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute (Paducah Sun).
Louisiana: Columnist James Gill says private schools which teach creationism should be banned from accepting vouchers (The Advocate). The state auditor says vouchers do not ensure a quality education for students (Daily World, The Town Talk, Education Week). Gov. Bobby Jindal criticizes the Justice Department’s report on vouchers and racial segregation (The Advocate). A school choice opponent argues that choosing a school is too difficult so it shouldn’t be an option (The Advertiser). A group in Lafayette forms to oppose charter schools (The Advertiser).
Massachusetts: School choice leads to more egalitarian options for students but widens the inequality gap for school districts (Daily Hampshire Gazette). Charter school tutors work long hours for little pay (Boston Globe).
Michigan: A state lawmaker makes a pitch for school vouchers (Detroit Free Press).
Minnesota: The state Department of Education is granting 24 top-performing charter schools $100,000 to $225,000 to expand or replicate their education models (Insight News).
New Jersey: Newark’s school superintendent wants to expand charter schools in the district (New York Post). More than half the new students seeking public school choice won’t get to attend a new school because of the new state-imposed transfer limitations (NJ.com).
New York: How will Bill de Blasio’s new chancellor approach charter schools and school choice? (New York Daily News, Gotham Schools, Hechinger Report, Capital New York). Nina Rees, president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, says Bill de Blasio needs to give charter schools a chance (USA Today).
North Carolina: A News & Record editorial argues public funds should not go to religious schools and incorrectly claims voucher students won’t be tested. Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, believes more choices improve K-12 education (Charlotte News & Observer). A survey of North Carolina teachers shows they believe vouchers negatively impact public education (University of North Carolina at Wilmington).
Ohio: Charter schools ask the court to prohibit their for-profit management company from retaining property bought with profit made from state taxes (Columbus Dispatch).
Oklahoma: Three new virtual charter schools wish to open (News OK).
Pennsylvania: A rejected charter school collects nearly 2,000 signatures on a petition to overturn the district’s rejection, but a judge rules the petition is insufficient since too many signatures belonged to people who either did not live in the district, filled in the incorrect date, or did not personally know the witness to the signature (Philadelphia Inquirer). A health and fitness charter school tries for a third time to get its application approved (York Daily).
South Carolina: An editor at The State opposes vouchers but supports charter schools because they are held to the same testing and accountability as district schools.
Tennessee: Education reformers supporting vouchers and charter schools will try again to influence elections and legislation in 2014 (The Tennessean).
Texas: Should an alternative charter school that graduates or retains 68 percent of its students be closed for fiscal accountability failures? The Austin American-Statesman says yes. The Texas Education Agency plans to shut down six charter schools next year but not all of them are poor performers (Dallas Observer).
Wisconsin: The superintendent of Fond du Lac says choice benefits families and kids but reduces resources for public schools (Fond du Lac Reporter). Public schools don’t lose very much money when a student chooses a voucher and that may explain why the program doesn’t work as well as supporters would hope (Heartland News).
National: The Chicago Tribune asks, “Why do the feds meddle with school choice?” Eleven school choice programs came under fire from lawsuits around the country last year (Watchdog, Reason Magazine). The top 10 moments in school choice in 2013 (Friedman Foundation). 2013 was another “Year of School Choice” (Cato Institute). Make 2014 the year of school choice (redefinED). Tom Vander Ark explores the latest developments in virtual schools and digital learning over the last three years (Education Week). The Walton Family Foundation defends its $6 million donation to the Alliance for School Choice (Christian Post).
World: How to choose the right public school for your child in England (Ulster Star). Only 6 percent of public school teachers in the U.K. think publicly funded private schools are the right approach for education in the country (Huffington Post).
