Sparking the evolution of education choice
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey wraps up his final legislative session with victories on multiple fronts, not the least of which is to reclaim Arizona’s status as the top state for K-12 choice. The state’s lawmakers expanded eligibility for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program to all students in the state at[Read More…]
Editor’s note: This Q&A about Arizona’s House Bill 2853 appeared last week on the Goldwater Institute’s website. The Arizona Legislature has unveiled an ambitious plan to put K-12 students and parents first. Sponsored by House Majority Leader Ben Toma and co-sponsored by over two dozen of his peers, HB 2853 would open[Read More…]
On this episode, Ladner and the Heritage Foundation’s Will Skillman Education Fellow discuss Butcher’s new report studying spending trends of families using North Carolina’s Education Savings Account. https://www.redefinedonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ButcherLadner_EDIT.mp3 The report shows that significantly more families in North Carolina are using their ESA money on different purchases and services than[Read More…]
Editor’s note: Senior policy analyst Jonathan Butcher is co-editor and one of nearly two-dozen contributors to “The Not-So-Great-Society,” a new volume released today by The Heritage Foundation. Butcher’s chapter on education savings accounts, in which he explains the original Arizona model and describes how ESAs have evolved in large part[Read More…]
Call them Vouchers 2.0. In the age of customization, researcher Matthew Ladner sees education savings accounts as the tool for the times. Unlike vouchers or tax credit scholarships, ESAs would allow parents to use state funds to pay for a blend of K-12 educational options – schools, tutors, online programs, etc., in whatever[Read More…]
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Mississippi: State lawmakers are expected to try again this year to pass charter school legislation, but some suburban Republicans continue to have concerns (Desoto Times Tribune). Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says there’s bipartisan support for charter schools (Associated Press). More from the Memphis Commercial Appeal. At least one lawmaker is talking[Read More…]
Editor’s note: After redefinED posted Howard Fuller’s comments about universal school choice, we asked the Cato Institute’s Andrew J. Coulson for a response, which we published last week. To keep the debate going, we asked Matthew Ladner, senior advisor of policy and research at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, for his[Read More…]
Louisiana: Senate approves statewide voucher program on a 24-15 vote. (New Orleans Times Picayune) The vote was bipartisan, again. (redefinED) Gov. Bobby Jindal succeeds in a sweeping education overhaul. (Associated Press) South Carolina: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will be the keynote speaker at an education reform summit later this[Read More…]