Oklahoma: The state supreme court tosses out a lawsuit challenging a voucher program for special needs students, saying the two school districts that filed suit did not have standing (The Oklahoman). Indiana: The state supreme court hears arguments over the constitutionality of the state’s fledgling voucher program (Indianapolis Star). Enrollment[Read More…]
Tag: school boards and vouchers
School choice on the school board
In our Florida roundups this week, we neglected to mention a significant and promising development – the election of a pro-school-choice candidate to the board that oversees one of the biggest school districts in Florida and the 22nd-largest in the country. Jason Fischer, 29, easily won a seat on the[Read More…]
Agonizing over Amendment 8
Our preoccupation these days with a Florida amendment removing the state’s no-aid-to-religion clause may strike some redefinED readers as a touch obsessive, and we won’t argue the point. But the truth is that we agonize over whether to write at all, and we want to explain why. At the end[Read More…]
redefinED roundup: Voucher possibilities in Tennessee, voucher phantoms in Florida and more
Tennessee: A task force appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam leaves no doubt that a private school voucher program is under serious consideration (Memphis Commercial Appeal). More here and here. Florida: Teachers unions, school boards and media outlets are distorting the aim of a proposed constitutional amendment, claiming it’s about private school vouchers (redefinED). A charter[Read More…]
Down the rabbit hole on Florida’s Amendment 8
It’s concerning enough that Florida education reporters are overlooking basic facts about Amendment 8 – the “religious freedom amendment” – and in many cases simply repeating what the teachers unions and school boards say about it (that it’s really about vouchers voucher vouchers vouchers … ). But an Orlando Sentinel reporter took it a step further yesterday,[Read More…]
The disappointing “he-said” coverage of Florida’s Amendment 8
There are times when it’s appropriate for a journalist to boil down a story into a he-said, she-said. And there are times when it’s just lackluster reporting. As Jon East has noted in this blog post and this op-ed, Florida’s Amendment 8 – the “religious freedom amendment” – is not[Read More…]
New school board member in Florida to push for vouchers, charters – and clones
If you need any more proof that the political coalition for school choice is as broad as it gets, listen to Nancy Stacy, a school board member-elect in Marion County, Fla. Stacy is a Republican Party activist, backed by the Tea Party, who describes herself as “to the right of[Read More…]
Once again: Florida’s Amendment 8 is NOT about private school vouchers
Editor’s note: This op-ed appeared in today’s Tampa Bay Times. Few public issues are as absorbing as the balance between religion and government, so a ballot initiative that aims to change the boundary is worthy of rigorous debate. Instead, Florida’s Amendment 8 is being treated to a proxy campaign on school vouchers.[Read More…]