Gov. LePage

New Hampshire: The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State file suit against the state's new tax credit scholarship program (New Hampshire Public Radio). More from Associated Press.

Maine: State Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen points to problems in the process after the state charter school commission rejects four of five applicants (Bangor DailyNews). Gov. Paul LePage tees off on the commission and the teachers union after the rejections (Portland Press Herald). Supporters of virtual charter schools are also upset (Portland Press Herald). The teachers union blasts LePage for wanting to lift the cap on charter schools (Portland Press Herald). Public school administrators say charters should have to feel effect of  education budget cuts too (Bangor Daily News).

Kansas: Vouchers, tax credit scholarships and an expansion of charter schools are all expected to be part of the legislative discussion this year (Wichita Eagle.)

Kentucky: A bill is filed to allow a limited number of charter schools to open in the state for the first time (Kentucky Public Radio).

California: Parents at Desert Trails Elementary School finally succeed in using the  parent trigger law to get a charter school to take over their school (Los Angeles Times). More from Hechinger Report and Education Week.

Georgia: A state representative is planning to file a parent trigger bill for the session that begins today (Associated Press).

Mississippi: Business leaders are backing the legislative push for charter schools (Associated Press). Racial divisions and mistrust are at play in debate over charter schools (Hechinger Report). (more…)

When it comes to school choice debates, Muslims are the latest religious group to be singled out for fear mongering. Anti-Muslim bigotry, often an undercurrent of opposition in recent tussles over private school vouchers, surfaced last week in a state that appeared to be on the verge of taking school choice to the next level.

Kansas state Rep. Bill Otto tried to convince his legislative colleagues to send a tax credit scholarship bill back to committee because he worried about the potential expansion of Islamic schools. “What kind of schools might we develop?” Otto said, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal. “Schools that may or may not agree with your values or my values.”

Otto, a Republican, didn’t persuade his colleagues on that particular proposal. But the bill went down 55-66, and political observers in Kansas say his concerns were not unique.

Obviously, they’re not confined to Kansas either. Or to any one political party. (Or just to vouchers and tax credit scholarships. In Tennessee, a group concerned about Islamic influence is backing a bill that would limit the number of foreign workers a charter school can hire.)

Voucher critics occasionally rile up blogs and news story comment sections by hyping angst over Muslim schools. About a year ago, W.C. Gentry, a Duval County (Fla.) School Board member, expressed concerns about Muslim schools while discussing his opposition to tax credit scholarships in a radio interview.

“Now there’s nothing wrong with Muslim schools,” said Gentry, a Republican who is also a member of the Save Duval Schools board of directors, “but people need to appreciate when you start taking public money and giving it out to these various entities it’s going to go all over the place and maybe some places that you really wouldn’t want it to go.” (more…)

Louisiana:  State Superintendent John White: Teachers are soldiers in fight for social justice. (Baton Rouge Advocate) State House passes bill for program similar to tax-credit scholarships. (New Orleans Times Picayune.) Voucher and charter school proposal rolls through state Senate committee. (Shreveport Times.)

South Carolina: State House passes major expansion of school choice, including tax credit scholarships for low-income students and students with disabilities. (Associated Press)

New Hampshire: State House passes tax credit scholarship bill, but Gov. John Lynch has "real concerns." (Nashua Telegraph)

Oregon: Op-ed: Expanding school choice will promote student responsibility. (News and Herald) (more…)