Rallies tend to be choreographed political endeavors, but the video above is worth your four minutes if for no other reason than the glimpses of the parents who participated.

This school choice rally was held at the Florida Capitol on April 3, and it represents something you don't see every day. It brought more than 1,000 students, parents and activists together to celebrate the full spectrum of school choice – from magnet schools to career academies to charter schools to online courses to tax credit scholarships for low-income students and vouchers for students with learning disabilities.

Forget the attendance numbers, which incidentally were stronger than any of the PTA-type parent rallies in recent years, and look instead at the faces. They are remarkably diverse, racially and economically, and some of them traveled all night and missed work to be there. They brought with them their passion and their belief that the school they chose is working for their children. And they are hardly alone. In Florida last year, 1.5 million of the students in PreK-12 – or 43 percent – attended something other than their assigned neighborhood school, and this kind of event is a reminder that parents are choosing their schools in ways that also change the politics of public education.

No one should read too much into a political rally, but, at a time when the more traditional parent associations continue to fight many of the learning options these parents consider essential to their children’s future, there is something poignant here. Many of these parents have felt disenfranchised in the past, and their magnet choice or charter school or scholarship has given them a sense of educational ownership. To see them fight to keep these school choice options is uplifting, and not because it reflects one political ideology or another. It means they believe in their child's education, and that has to accrue to their child's benefit.

Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam, not pleased with Republican plans to create a broader voucher program, pulls the plug on his voucher proposal, limited to low-income children from low-performing schools (Associated Press). More from Nashville Public Radio and The Tennessean. The finger pointing begins (Chattanooga Times Free Press). New York Times takes a look at the Achievement School District, which has turned to charters as part of the solution to raise student achievement. A bill to create a statewide charter school authorizer clears a House committee (The Tennessean).

Texas: The House shoots down any attempts to create a voucher or tax credit scholarship program, with dozens of  Republicans joining Democrats in saying no (Dallas Morning News). More from the Houston Chronicle and Texas Tribune. School supporters plan to press ahead with a proposal for tax credit scholarships (Dallas Morning News).

Alabama: Critics say the state's new tax credit scholarship program will subsidize private schools built to resist desegregation (Birmingham News). Democratic legislative leaders say they'll push for a repeal (Birmingham News).

Mississippi: Senate leaders agree to a watered-down charter schools bill to keep it alive (Jackson Clarion Ledger). House members pass a charter bill with no debate (Jackson Clarion Ledger). More from the Associated Press. Both sides later pass the same bill and send it to Gov. Phil Bryant (Education Week).

Florida: More than 1,000 rally for school choice at the Florida Capitol in the first event that brings together parents from magnet, charter, voucher, virtual and home-school sectors (redefinED). Catholic schools buck national trends, seeing the first enrollment growth in five years (redefinED). A parent trigger bill clears its first committee in the state Senate (Orlando Sentinel) and passes the House (Tampa Bay Times). A bill that would allow school districts to create charter-like "innovation schools" also gets okay from the Senate Education Committee (Associated Press). A bill to tighten accountability on charters but allow high-performing ones to grow faster passes the House (Orlando Sentinel). (more…)

Alabama: Gov. Robert Bentley signs the tax credit scholarship bill into law after the Alabama Supreme Court lifts a restraining order from a circuit court judge that prevented the bill from being sent to him (NPR). More from AL.com. The Alabama Education Association is running ads accusing lawmakers of betrayal for approving the bill (Sand Mountain Reporter).

Indiana: Gov. Mike Pence tells a crowd of several thousand school choice supporters that vouchers and charter schools are key pieces in ed reform (Indianapolis Star). More from  Associated Press, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Evansville Courier & Press. The proposed voucher expansion raises concerns about cost (Associated Press).

Pennsylvania: Lawmakers are set to consider several bills that would alter funding formulas for both virtual and bricks-n-mortar charter schools (Pittsburg Post Gazette).

Wisconsin: The state is holding back voucher funds from five Milwaukee private schools it says have financial and/or reporting issues (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Three private schools that lost accreditation continue to receive voucher funds because of a loophole in state law (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Ohio: Gov. John Kasich proposes to hike charter school funding by 4.5 percent (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

Florida: One city in Florida turns its district schools into charter schools in an effort to boost quality (redefinED). A prominent Democrat helps lead the effort (redefinED). More than 600 gather in Orlando for the Black Alliance for Educational Options' annual symposium (redefinED). Legislation to require safety alerts for private schools clears two more hurdles (redefinED).

Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam's voucher proposal clears the House Education Committee (Associated Press). But a Republican senators puts forward a broader, alternative proposal (The Tennessean). The Rocketship charter school network plans to open eight schools in Nashville, beginning next year (Getting Smart). Nashville school district officials are stunned (The Tennessean). They also worry about the financial fallout of a bill that would create a statewide charter school authorizer (The Tennessean). (more…)