Sparking the evolution of education choice
Editor’s note: During this holiday season, redefinED is republishing our best articles of 2019 – those features and commentaries that deserve a second look. This article from Step Up For Students’ director of policy and public affairs Ron Matus was part of our “Education Revolution” series marking the 20th anniversary[Read More…]
This is the second of two posts on the judicial history of Florida’s Blaine Amendment with regard to public aid to private religious institutions. Part one can be read here. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the constitutionality of state Blaine Amendments in 2020. Lawyers defending[Read More…]
On June 7, 2005, opposing sides met for the final time to argue before the Florida Supreme Court over the constitutionality of the state’s first voucher program, the Opportunity Scholarship. Supporters of the program for low-income students had won several important victories, forcing opponents to abandon all but one remaining[Read More…]
Florida’s first school choice voucher left quite the legacy, even though it didn’t survive a legal challenge. One of the first Opportunity Scholarship students, Khaliah Clanton-Williams, says school choice changed her life for the better, and she’s hoping it will continue to expand so it can benefit her son as well.
Financial emergency: The Jefferson County School District is in a financial emergency, the Florida Department of Education declares. The state requires districts to have a 3 percent reserve fund, and the district’s is now under 2 percent. The state has asked for and received two financial improvement plans, but Education Commissioner Pam[Read More…]
A recent report from Harvard researchers offers more compelling reasons why expanded learning options are so needed for struggling students. Based on data from four urban school districts, the Strategic Data Project at Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research found lower-performing students are placed with brand-new teachers far more often than their[Read More…]
While defending his sponsorship of Pennsylvania’s proposed Opportunity Scholarship, state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams has been known to draw parallels between opponents to school choice and the demagogues who blocked the advance of the civil rights movement. But there have been an increasing number of critics who blanch at the[Read More…]
Many of you are aware that the New Jersey legislature is considering a tax credit scholarship bill modeled on Florida’s successful program. Sponsored by some prominent Democrats, this bill has inspired spirited debate in legislative committees, at rallies at the Capitol, and in the press. Today, former Democratic Gov. James[Read More…]
