New York: More than 1,000 charter school parents rally in Albany to convince the state to let charter schools compete for state funding for pre-K (Fox23 News).

Montana: Lawmakers hear from parents and other child advocates who want their state to open charter schools and support giving families more choices, such as tax credits (Great Falls Tribune). Bills to create a tax credit scholarship program pass out of committees on mostly party line votes (Helena Independent Record). More from the Billings Gazette.

Ohio: Half the students in the state would be eligible for private school vouchers under an expansion proposed by Gov. John Kasich to include all low-income children (ClevelandLeader.com).

Texas: House Speaker Joe Straus warns the Senate that it might not want to go "full bore'' on a school voucher bill, calling it an "exercise in futility'' (Dallas Morning News). Four groups aiming to open charter schools next year turn in applications that have material copied from other applications (Dallas Morning News).

Florida: The Florida House approved a bill that makes it easier for charter schools to grow, but calls for increased accountability (redefinED). The bill also gives charters greater access to district facilities, something one school official said would be a "logistical nightmare" (Palm Beach Post). More from Tallahassee Democrat. Private schools can apply to administer the FCAT, but, so far, only two have (Orlando Sentinel). (more…)

Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam proposes a voucher that's limited to low-income students in low-performing schools, with additional state funding for those schools to boot (KnoxNews). More from timesfreepress.com and Nashville Public Radio. Haslam reiterates that his proposal won't affect funding for public schools (Nooga.com). Both supporters and opponents find details to criticize (KnoxNews). Haslam's administration is also backing a bill that would cap enrollment at a virtual charter school run by K12 Inc, reports timesfreepress.com.

Florida: At a National School Choice Week event, new Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett gives some school districts credit for expanding public options such as magnet schools and career academies (redefinED).

Louisiana: The teachers union in New Orleans asks for the names of teachers in the city's charter schools in the hopes of organizing them (The Lens).

Arkansas: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush makes an appearance during National School Choice Week, urging lawmakers to expand charter schools and other choice options and calling education reform both the civil rights and economic issue of our time (Associated Press). More from the Arkansas Press-Gazette.

Virginia: Democratic lawmakers kill a charter school bill and snub their party's national platform in the process (Watchdog.org). More from the Associated Press. A bill to allow home-schoolers to play sports in public schools - a so-called "Tebow" bill - passes the House but must still clear the Senate (Associated Press).

Georgia: The state charter schools commission holds its first meeting since being revived by passage of a constitutional amendment (Atlanta Journal Constitution). More than 1,000 charter school supporters gather to celebrate the amendment's passage (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

South Carolina: State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais says at a National School Choice Week event that he supports a legislative proposal for tax credit scholarships (SCNow.com).

North Carolina: An expansion of charter schools brings debate about quality (Durham Herald Sun).

Mississippi: A bill backed by Gov. Phil Bryant to create a tax credit scholarship program clears the Senate education committee (Associated Press).

Texas: A charter school chief executive testifies in a trial about education funding that low state spending is hurting charters too (San Antonio Express News). The Amarillo school district joins others in supporting an anti-voucher resolution (NewsChannel 10). Gov. Rick Perry backs expansion of charter schools and a proposal for tax credit scholarships (Dallas Morning News). (more…)

Texas: State lawmakers propose an ambitious school choice expansion plan that includes a tax credit scholarship for low-income students and the lifting of a cap on charter schools (Dallas Morning News). More from the Austin American Statesman and San Antonio Express-News.

Tennessee: A key state lawmaker, House Speaker Beth Harwell, says the legislature will consider a statewide charter school authorizer (The Tennessean). Area businesses help push growth of charters in the Nashville area (The Tennessean). Gov. Bill Haslam gives mixed signals on the possibility of voucher legislation next year (Knoxville News-Sentinel). More from the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Louisiana: The Recovery School District in New Orleans is moving towards an all-charter system (New Orleans Times Picayune). The latest enrollment counts show families who accepted vouchers are sticking with their schools (Alexandria Town Talk).

North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools superintendent Heath Morrison calls private, charter and traditional public school leaders together to discuss the possibility of partnerships (Charlotte Observer).

Indiana: A new study finds the state's charter schools are among the best in the nation when compared to their traditional public school counterparts (Indianapolis Star). But the poor performance of many charters under one authorizer, Ball State University, drags down the overall results (Indianapolis Star).

Illinois: Members of the Chicago teachers union march to protest a wealthy charter school supporter and ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Chicago Sun Times).

Ohio: Federal education officials are investigating whether charter schools in Ohio and three other states - Texas, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - are discriminating against students with disabilities (StateImpact Ohio).

Wisconsin: Possible expansion of vouchers, extra pay for low-performing schools with improvement plans, and more education funding are all on tap for the next legislative session, Gov. Scott Walker says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Georgia: A judge rules that the Atlanta school district must stop withholding money from the city's charter schools to help pay for the district's pension program (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

Editor's note: Blog stars is our occasional roundup of compelling, provocative or just downright good stuff from other ed blogs (although sometimes we throw in op-eds from newspapers and magazines, too). Enjoy.

Geoffrey Canada: Death to Education Reform

To know me is to know that no one feels more strongly than I do about the importance of transforming our current absurd, destructive educational system.

But the way education reform advocates are going about it is wrong. The problem is that you’re never going to get people motivated to be awesome teachers if they’re part of a giant bureaucracy. The only way you’re going to get people to be motivated to be awesome teachers is, yes, if you give them enough money, but also if they are part of a STRUCTURE and a CULTURE that breathes this kind of achievement and rewards it–rewards it not only financially, but also through an environment that encourages it every day. Why do small startups kick the ass of giant technology companies every day? It’s because, yes, these startups have payoffs, but anyone who knows them will tell you that what really makes them tick is the fact that they are small, tight-knit, and everyone is extremely focused. Information loops close really fast. It’s also what made Harlem Children’s Zone a success. It’s what makes neoliberal attempts to “reform” schools centrally via spreadsheet fail.

The only way you’re going to get good schools, in other words, is if you have a system where the people who have the biggest stake in the education, also have a very direct say in how things are run.

To put it another way, you need radical decentralization and a radical shift to power to parents and children in how schools are run. This can be accomplished through vouchers or through other means. (I actually have my misgivings about vouchers, for a bunch of complex reasons, but I’ve come to believe decentralization really is the key.) You could have a 100% public system if it was also structured so as to enable choice and competition. But the crucial thing is to let a thousand flowers bloom. Full post here. (Image from the thebestschools.org)

Andrew J. Coulson: Uh ... the 'Quality Controlled' Schools Are Worse

Sunday’s Washington Post ran a story titled “Quality controls lacking for D.C. schools accepting federal vouchers.” These are the particular failings chosen for the story’s lede:

schools that are unaccredited or are in unconventional settings, such as a family-run K-12 school operating out of a storefront, a Nation of Islam school based in a converted Deanwood residence, and a school built around the philosophy of a Bulgarian psychotherapist.

It is remarkable that more serious transgressions were omitted. Why not mention the schools in which current and former staff brawl in the parking lot, or students start vicious fights at sporting events? Why not discuss the schools spending nearly $30,000 per pupil annually and yet graduating barely half of their students on time?

The reason the WaPo didn’t mention them is that they are not voucher schools. (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).

Who may run against Rick Scott. According to Florida Trend, at least six challengers are already lining up: Nan Rich, Alex Sink, Dan Gelber, Buddy Dyer, Jimmy Morales and Charlie Crist. Rich, Sink and Gelber have taken strong positions against many of Florida’s ed reforms, while Crist of course vetoed Senate Bill 6.

More fallout from charter payout. For charter school opponents, the $519,000 payout to the principal of a failed Orange County charter is the gift that keeps on giving. “School boards would face public rage for even proposing such pay,” editorializes the Bradenton Herald. The original Orlando Sentinel story also gets posted on the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Get Schooled blog. Georgia is in the middle of a big fight over a charter school amendment to the state constitution, and the Orange County case is cited as an example of what happens when oversight is lax.

Virtual expansion. The Marion County school district opens its first online elementary school, reports the Ocala Star Banner.

Taking aim at parent trigger. “The biggest lie about ‘parent trigger’ is that it is about parents,” writes a member of Florida’s Fund Education Now in the U.S. News & World Report.

Florida: A failing  charter school cuts its principal a $500,000 check as it was closing its doors (Orlando Sentinel). Charter school supporters are also angered (redefinED).

Louisiana: State Superintendent John White is accused of lying to lawmakers about the state's new voucher program (theadvertiser.com). White is also summoned to court in a lawsuit filed by a school district that says the voucher program will interfere with its ability to comply with court-ordered desegregation orders (Associated Press). Debate ensues over whether proposed rules are stringent enough for schools wanting to participate in the program (Shreveport Times).

California: A record-setting 109 new charter schools opened in the state this year, lifting the total number of charter schools to 1,065 and enrollment to 484,000 (Associated Press).

Washington D.C.: Enrollment is up 1 percent in the district's traditional schools, and 11 percent in its charters (Associated Press).

Washington: A former charter school opponent is now a leading supporter of the state's charter ballot initiative (Seattle Times). School choice is a leading issue in a debate between state senate candidates (Tacoma News Tribune). (more…)

Washington: Supporters of a charter school ballot initiative raise $5 million in six weeks, including another $2 million from Bill Gates (Associated Press).

California: A judge rules that parents who won a parent trigger battle can open a charter school next fall (Los Angeles Times).

Florida: A new initiative to put more students into STEM fields taps students in traditional, magnet and charter schools (redefinED). A long-troubled Imagine charter school continues to test the patience of the school board in Pinellas County (Tampa Bay Times). In Palm Beach County, thousands of parents and students show up for a school choice showcase that includes magnet and charter schoools (Palm Beach Post). 

Pennsylvania: Republican lawmakers postpone discussion on a proposed statewide authorizer for charter schools (Pittsburgh Post Gazette). The U.S. Department of Education questions how state education officials revised rules to gauge whether charter school met academic standards (Philadelphia Inquirer). A bill to toughen oversight of charter schools dies in the state House (Associated Press).

Georgia: State senate candidates are divided over charter schools and a charter school ballot initiative (Douglas County Sentinel).

New Jersey: Charter schools tied to the highly regarded KIPP network are gearing up to expand (NJSpotlight.com).

Louisiana: An effort to recall lawmakers who supported the state's new voucher program fizzles (Associated Press). (more…)

Texas: School choice critics claim vouchers threaten high school football because they will allegedly drain money from public schools (The Texas Tribune). More from KHOU.com. Response from redefinED.

Florida: State education leaders seek to double enrollment in charter schools over the next six years, from about 180,000 now to 360,000 (Orlando Sentinel). More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida private schools that accept tax credit scholarships are part of a project to boost parental engagement (redefinED).

Alabama: Supporters say there is little chance a charter school bill will be back in the Legislature next year (Anniston Star).

Michigan: A newspaper poll finds only 1 in 5 Detroit residents think the school district offers the best learning options for their kids (Detroit News).

Louisiana: State Superintendent John White proposes new rules for private and parochial schools that want voucher dollars (Baton Rouge Advocate). He  touts the new voucher program in a visit to New Orleans (wwltv.com). Arguments in the constitutional challenge against the program are postponed until next month (Associated Press). One district sees growth in its virtual school option (Baton Rouge Advocate.) (more…)

Texas: Recent political appointments show more stars lining up for vouchers in the next legislative session. (Houston Chronicle)

Michigan: Parent Revolution leader Ben Austin criticizes a parent trigger proposal in Michigan because for-profit charter schools would be among the options parents could select for a school turnaround. (Education Week)

Florida: School boards pass resolution after resolution against Amendment 8, which they think will open the door to more private school vouchers.

New Jersey: An Episcopal school in Newark becomes the first to convert to a charter school under a new law opposed by some Catholic leaders. (NJ.com)

Tennessee: Vouchers are an issue in legislative races, with some Republicans lukewarm about the idea (timesfreepress.com). Some charter schools in Memphis get rent-free school buildings, while others have to pay for their own space (Memphis Commercial Appeal).

Maine: The state's first charter schools open. (Associated Press)

Georgia: Some school board members complain the Georgia School Boards Association's opposition to a charter school ballot initiative has gone too far. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) (more…)