Hello again Florida. I’m glad to be “back” although still from a distance – a distance I hope that will continue to have a utility. I’ll get to that in a bit. I’ve taken on a role as Editor of redefinED and I have been asked to introduce myself, which[Read More…]
Tag: Arizona and tax credit scholarships
redefinED roundup: Parent trigger in Florida, charter schools in N.C., vouchers in Texas & more
Kansas: Lawmakers are pushing for two new bills, which include recommendations from the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, to bring the school choice movement to a state with only 15 charter schools (The Topeka Capital-Journal). Georgia: Proposed legislation looks to cap the state’s private-school tax credit program and limit it to students[Read More…]
A closer look at Marco Rubio’s proposal for federal tax credit scholarships
Eleven states currently offer tax credits to specified taxpayers who make contributions to tax-exempt non-profit organizations that in turn use those contributions to fund scholarships for qualifying, financially-needy, elementary and/or secondary school students attending private schools. This fairly recent development is currently empowering perhaps 150,000 lower-income families, who generally are[Read More…]
redefinED roundup: School choice in Montana, parent trigger in Florida, tax credit defeat in Mississippi & more
Montana: House Republicans endorse three school choice bills – one to authorize charter schools, another to create a modest tax credit scholarship program and a third to create an education savings account program for students with disabilities (Independent Record). A day later, several defect on the charter school bill and it[Read More…]
Once again: Florida’s Amendment 8 is NOT about private school vouchers
Editor’s note: This op-ed appeared in today’s Tampa Bay Times. Few public issues are as absorbing as the balance between religion and government, so a ballot initiative that aims to change the boundary is worthy of rigorous debate. Instead, Florida’s Amendment 8 is being treated to a proxy campaign on school vouchers.[Read More…]
Zelman’s significance grows as school choice battles rage on
Editor’s note: This is the second of two posts we’re running this week to commemorate the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris. As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the landmark Zelman Supreme Court case, its implications are widely visible in the expansion of voucher programs, such[Read More…]
Florida may be next stop for highly regarded Catholic school network
A chain of Catholic, college-prep high schools that has demonstrated success with low-income students is eyeing two Florida cities for a possible expansion. Tampa and Miami are near the top of the list for the Chicago-based Cristo Rey Network, group president Rob Birdsell told redefinED. The reasons: A good job[Read More…]
Program design is crucial for tax credit scholarships
Stephanie Saul offered an indictment in the New York Times today of tax credit scholarship programs that have, in my opinion, serious design flaws. These flaws were almost guaranteed to provide examples like Saul found for her article. How lawmakers and, just as importantly, parental choice advocates respond is an important[Read More…]