Florida: The state's top education official offers a strong pitch for continued expansion of school choice options despite recent scrutiny of charter schools. (redefinED) The state Board of Education overrules several school districts that opposed new charter schools. (Orlando Sentinel)

Louisiana: One local school district plans to open a virtual school to compete for home schoolers. (Baton Rouge Advocate) Meanwhile, this district seeks to opt out of the state's new voucher program. (Baton Rouge Advocate) So does this one. (Monroe News Star) Charter schools get a thumbs up from Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. (Baton Rouge Advocate)

Alabama: Charter schools bill, watered down after vigorous opposition from state teachers union, is dead. (Montgomery Advertiser)

Massachusetts: State lifts temporary moratorium on new charter schools. (Boston Globe) (more…)

More than 5,600 charter schools are celebrating National Charter Schools Week this week, but none are in Alabama. Barring a miracle, there won’t be any in the near future, either.

The Alabama state senate whiffed last week on a historic opportunity to finally bring charter schools to one of the last states without any. It took an initially modest bill that had already been downsized in earlier rounds of legislating and proceeded to make it a joke.

“As watered down as a glass of iced tea left to sit in Alabama’s summer sun,” the Birmingham News editorialized this week.

The original bill would have allowed up to 50 charters statewide. What passed last week reduced the cap to 20. It also limited charters to the four biggest cities; allowed only the conversion of existing, low-performing schools into charters; gave veto power to the local superintendent or any member of the local legislative delegation; and provided for no appeals process. In other words, it makes charter schools in Alabama pretty much impossible.

The House could revive the bill, but that appears unlikely.

What a shame for the students of Alabama. This year's Education Week rankings put Alabama at No. 44 among the 50 states in K-12 academic achievement. To be sure, the state has made some recent moves in the right direction by beefing up standards and accountability. But they're not enough. Alabama students deserve to benefit from the kinds of expanded school choice offerings that have helped students across the nation. (more…)

New Jersey: At the American Federation for Children national summit, N.J. Gov. Chris Christie invokes civil rights era imagery to make his case for vouchers. (Associated Press) Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal tells choice advocates they have "truth and the American people on (their) side." (abcnews.com) Newark Mayor Cory Booker decries an education system that "chokes out the potential of millions of children." (redefinED) Beyond the headlines, choice supporters also talk accountability. (redefinED)

Alabama: Embattled charter school bill is watered down again before passage. (Associated Press)

New Hampshire: Charter schools in the state are expanding rapidly. (Concord Monitor)

Montana: Vouchers and tax credit scholarships become an issue in the race for governor. (Billings Gazette)

California: Two dozen high-performing traditional public schools in Los Angeles seek to become charter schools. (Los Angeles Times) (more…)

A bill to finally bring charter schools to Alabama looked like a slam dunk at the start of that state’s legislative session.  But after a barrage of negative attacks, intense lobbying by the state teachers union and a stealth ad campaign that has tried to link charter schools to gays, lesbians, Muslims and President Obama, its odds of passage are no longer so good, said a veteran political reporter.

“The intent was to derail the legislation,” reporter Bill Britt told redefinED in the podcast interview below. “And amazingly enough, through those efforts and the efforts of the AEA (the Alabama Education Association), the charter school bill in Alabama is barely on life support.”

The bill is modest. It initially sought to allow up to 50 charter schools statewide, a cap that was dropped to 20 in the face of opposition. But, Britt said, even that is too many for the AEA, which views charters as a threat to its membership and power – power already curtailed by the rise of a strong Republican majority in the legislature. “It was always said that the Alabama Democratic Party was a wholly owned subsidiary of the AEA,” said Britt, who runs the online Alabama Political Reporter. “And for the most part, that’s been true.”

Britt said he can’t prove the AEA is behind the stealth campaign, which has used a series of shadowy, strategically placed facebook ads to portray charter schools as a left-wing plot. But he said it’s “highly possible” that paid surrogates, acting on the AEA’s behalf, are.

Whoever’s behind it, he said, it’s working.

“The bill has gone through so many iterations and been weakened so much (that) now, if you believe their thoughts or not, Republicans are saying, ‘Why should I put my political career in jeopardy and have the AEA coming after me or financing my opponent, for a weak bill? A bill that really doesn’t accomplish what we set out to do?’ “ Britt said. “There are a lot of Republicans that have begun to waver on the whole notion of fighting for charter schools.”

Somebody in Alabama is so desperately scared of school choice, they’ve launched a stealth campaign to make school choice seem scary. Their goal: to tarnish charter schools by linking them to gays, lesbians, Muslims, Democrats, abortions – and if that’s still not frightening enough – to Michelle Rhee and President Obama.

The horror that would spawn such a reaction? The Education Options Act of 2012, a bill now being considered by the Alabama Legislature. It would allow up to 20 charter schools statewide (down from 50 initially) and only in school districts with persistently low-performing schools. Florida, by comparison, has more than 400 charter schools in dozens of districts, enrolling 175,000 students.

But in Alabama – one of the few states left without any charter schools – even a handful, apparently, is apocalyptic enough to throw everything against the wall. In recent weeks, somebody who leaves no obvious fingerprints has posted a series of fleeting, shadowy facebook ads designed, apparently, to make folks think charter schools are a radical, left-wing conspiracy.

Left-wing conspiracy? The darkly creative minds behind the ads should at least get credit for attempting to upend the dominant narrative about school choice – that it’s a right-wing conspiracy. One ad suggests charter schools will protect gay and lesbian kids who are bullied in Alabama schools. Another says “Coming to Alabama soon: Barack Obama Charter School. Support our President and Charter Schools.”  Yet others raise the specter of Muslim charter schools  - and we all know what that means, don’t we?

“If you believe the advertising on Facebook, Gay/Lesbian and Muslim matriculation will be what Alabama parents have to look forward to if the Education Options Act of 2012 becomes law,” Bill Britt with the Alabama Political Reporter, an alternative online news source, wrote recently. “This seems silly on its face but it is nevertheless effective in inciting fear and prejudice.” (more…)

Louisiana: Gov. Bobby Jindal signs off on far-reaching changes in education, including creation of a statewide voucher program. (Associated Press) The state teachers union vows to file a lawsuit challenging the program's constitutionality. (New Orleans Times Picayune) Meanwhile, another bill to expand school choice - with a program similar to tax credit scholarships - quietly moves forward. (New Orleans Times Picayune)

North Carolina: Charter school enrollment surges in Charlotte. (Charlotte Observer)

Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam raises concerns about a bill limiting the number of foreign workers at charter schools. (Associated Press)

Colorado: Choice supporters file legal briefs in case against voucher program created by the Douglas County school district. (ourcoloradonews.com)

Alabama: This school board opposes a bill that would allow creation of charter schools. (waaytv.com) So does this one. (al.com) (more…)

Florida: State report says charter school students perform better than peers in traditional public schools. (Florida Times Union) State task force will begin planning for digital learning. (Orlando Sentinel)

Washington, D.C.: President Obama should support the D.C. voucher program, which has shown good results and enjoys bipartisan support, the Washington Post editorializes.

Montana: Businessman gives $4.6 million to expand private school choice. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

New Hampshire: Lawmakers begin planning override of Gov. John Lynch's potential veto of a bill to establish tax credit scholarships. (New Hampshire Union Leader) (more…)