National. A new study from CREDO shows charter schools improving nationally, compared to traditional public schools, but with results varying widely from state to state. National coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, Hechinger Report, Charters & Choice, Associated Press, Huffington Post. State-level coverage in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Salt Lake City Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Detroit News, Newark Star Ledger, The Morning Call, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New Orleans Times Picayune.

National. Charter school waiting list nears 1 million nationally, according to a new survey from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (The Charter Blog). More from the Los Angeles Daily News.

Ohio. Lawmakers move to expand vouchers statewide for low-income students, beginning this fall with 2,000 kindergartners and expanding one grade level each year. (Friedman Foundation)

Wisconsin: Lawmakers expand vouchers statewide but with an enrollment cap of 500 the first year (Education Week). State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers criticizes the proposal (Journal Sentinel). Democrats predict a backlash (Wisconsin State Journal). Private schools in Madison consider whether to participate (Wisconsin State Journal).  Same with schools in the Wausau area (Wausau Daily Herald). A key lawmaker leaves the door open for another stab at a voucher for special-needs students (Wisconsin Reporter).

Indiana. Voucher supporters are giving a thumbs up to the expansion that begins Monday (Evansville Courier & Press). The Louisville Courier Journal raises questions about whether private schools have the capacity to absorb additional students.

New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie plans to sign off on the state budget, saying he'll bring back the fight for school vouchers next year (Newark Star-Ledger). Newark Mayor Cory Booker reiterates his support for school choice in his bid for U.S. Senate (Associated Press). Teachers and parents criticize the decision by Education Commissioner Chris Cerf to put the kibosh on a virtual charter set to open this fall (Newark Star-Ledger). (more…)

Indiana: State superintendent Tony Bennett, a leading light in the school choice and ed reform movement, loses his bid for re-election to Glenda Ritz, an elementary school media specialist (Indianapolis Star). Gov.-elect Mike Pence promises to continue pushing reform (Indiana Public Media).

Georgia: Voters back a constitutional amendment that creates a new state commission than can approve charter schools (New York Times).

Washington: Vote on the charter school ballot initiative is still too close to call (Seattle Times).

California: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vowed to fix public education by pushing for groundbreaking initiatives such as Public School Choice, which allowed teachers, charters and other outside operators to bid on low-performing schools. The result: dramatically improved test scores and graduation rates (Huffington Post op-ed).

Tennessee: The Memphis school district and charter schools snipe over funding (Memphis Commercial Appeal).

Mississippi: Republican lawmakers plan a big push for charter schools next year (Madison County Journal).

Florida: Voters reject Amendment 8, a "religious freedom" measure that critics claimed was about private school vouchers (Tampa Bay Times). Speculation abounds about Tony Bennett as a possibility for state education commissioner (redefinED).

New York: Tensions rise over proposal to convert low-performing schools in Buffalo into charters (Buffalo News).

Washington D.C.: Charter school academic ratings are released for a second year (Washington Post).

We want to spotlight two new videos that highlight the tension – and potential for change - that we’ve been seeing all week between education factions at the Democratic National Convention. The first is from Democrats for Education Reform; the second, from TEACHED. To whet your appetite, here are some choice quotes. Remember, these are Democrats saying these things, many of whom were in Charlotte this week.

“These bureaucracies have a way of outlasting the reformers, of insulating themselves from really deep reforms ... In our schools today across the country but particularly here in California, performance isn't taken into account at all.” – Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

“We have to really focus on teacher quality. We have to focus on holding our schools accountable.” – Indiana State Rep. Ann Sullivan

“We can no longer operate insanity in this country.” – Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner

“We’ve got to do radical things.” – Denver Mayor Michael Hancock

"You have powers in place, and people in power, that have been around a long time and are comfortable with the way things are ... We know that all kids don't have access to opportunity. And so a Democrat who believes in education reform is somebody that's willing to say we can do it better, and it's okay to do things differently." - Maryland State Sen. Bill Ferguson

It’s getting harder and harder for critics to torpedo education reform ideas like the “parent trigger” by distorting political affiliations. The evidence just keeps getting in the way.

The latest example is what happened at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Orlando last weekend. With prominent Democrats leading the charge, the mayors in a voice vote unanimously endorsed parent triggers, which aim to help fed-up, low-income parents turn around struggling schools.

“Too many districts,” their resolution said (go to page 169), “continue to turn a blind eye toward some of the worst performing schools … ”

Now, whatever you think of parent triggers as a school-improvement tool – and there’s plenty of room for fair-minded debate here - it’s undeniable that critics have gotten considerable traction by portraying the notion as conservative, corporate, far-right and Republican. This was especially true in Florida. Parent trigger legislation was narrowly defeated in March after weeks of being caricatured as another sinister device for Jeb Bush, the Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council to mine billions of dollars from the privatization of public schools. (If you think my description is over the top, please watch this video.)

It’s true a lot of “conservative” ed reformers like the idea of a parent trigger. But it’s true, too, that the idea of giving low-income parents leverage and options, including the possibility of converting their schools into charter schools, has roots in “liberal/progressive” circles. (My apologies for the air quotes; after covering education in Florida for eight years, the labels just no longer make sense to me.) The sponsor of the original parent trigger bill in California, former state Sen. Gloria Romero, is a Democrat. Ben Austin, who heads the Parent Revolution group that is pushing the idea from state to state, is a former staffer in the Clinton White House. Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff to Barack Obama and now mayor of Chicago, is a fan, too.

All that wasn’t enough to scrub the perceived partisan funk off the Florida bill. But all indications are that it will resurface next spring. And maybe last weekend’s vote will help it be judged on its merits rather than its alleged lineage. (more…)

Former teacher union staffer and current Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made news last week when he slammed the L.A. teachers union for being the "one unwavering roadblock to reform" in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, Villaraigosa’s former union colleagues were furious at his “betrayal,” calling him a “turncoat.” But in the words of Harry Truman: “I never gave them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” Villaraigosa is correct. Teacher unions today are too conservative.

In the early 1960s, urban school districts were industrial factories controlled by political machines that were often more interested in maintaining political power than properly educating children. In response, teachers adopted a 1930s industrial model of unionism and began fierce political struggles for the right to collective bargaining. I joined those efforts in 1978 when I was elected president of a local Florida teachers union. I was proud when we finally won the right to bargain collectively in 1980 and I’m still proud of the improvements we achieved through organizing, bargaining and political action. But times have changed and unfortunately my former union colleagues aren’t keeping up.

Industrial-age unionism is no longer appropriate for a public education system that is abandoning the one-size-fits-all assembly line in favor of customized learning options. Teachers need a new unionism that uses collective power to promote individual teacher empowerment and embraces the innovations this empowerment will generate. (more…)