Commonwealth Education Organization
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- School Choice / Vouchers
(Please scroll down for current articles on school choice & vouchers.)
Why do we still need School Choice legislation in Pennsylvania?There is another new school choice bill that has been worked on in Pennsylvania, but has yet to be released.
How does this impact the state taxpayers? It is hitting our wallets. For years we have been asked to pay more and more in state taxes to help subsidize these failing schools. In many cases the cost per student ratio in these districts is much higher than in better performing districts. Why should state tax payers-given the current economic situation- be asked to continue to subsidize something that obviously is not getting good results? Why should we be asked to subsidize low performance and failure? Would we put up with that kind of thinking in purchasing a car, or any other product? It is time for a change, and other states have taken the lead in making needed education reforms. Will the Keystone State’s Governor and legislators finally jump on board, and provide our students and parents with School Choice?
Statistics provided by the Commonwealth Foundation.
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| TYPES OF SCHOOL CHOICE Explains the different forms that school choice can take. >>read more>> |
| *January 16, 2013 WHY WE NEED SCHOOL CHOICE "Though opponents wish to portray schools and school districts as bastions of democracy, they are not. The power is clearly stacked against parents, and it is stacked that way because it can be. Until we empower parents with school vouchers, tuition-tax credit scholarships, and charter schools, my family’s struggle, and the struggle of families similar to mine, will continue." >>read more>> *January 9, 201 WISCONSIN'S SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS PROVING TO BE A BIG HIT WITH STUDENTS, PARENTS "While parent and student satisfaction are the most important measuring sticks, researchers have also given a big thumbs up to Milwaukee’s school choice program. A five-year study conducted by the University of Arkansas found that 94 percent of students who used the voucher program during all four years of high school graduated on time, compared with 75 percent of students who remained in Milwaukee Public Schools." >>read more>> *December 12, 2012 PRIVATE SCHOOLS--YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE COMMON CORE "Through popular school choice efforts several states like Indiana and Louisiana have adopted school vouchers. While that seems great, and I am a proponent of school choice, vouchers seem to have unintended consequences for those who pushed for them – in that they give government a foot-in-the-door so to speak. Because of this I’m concerned about a collective silence from private schools about the Common Core State Standards." >>read more>> |
| October 30, 2012 EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: A PATH TO GIVE ALL CHILDREN AN EFFECTIVE EDUCATION AND PREPARE THE FOR LIFE "The most innovative solution to provide all America’s children with better opportunities is education savings accounts... With developments in technology, families have more options than ever in K–12 education. This report outlines how education savings accounts give parents even more flexibility. Moreover, it offers a road map for other states as they design a similar policy." >>read more>> |
| Editors note: This is basically discovery learning, fuzzy science resurrected and warmed over. How can kids really learn all the science they need to know this way? How will we ever be able to compete in the world with this kind of wimpy group work as our science? And interesting that this article is all about the Common Core standards when the science standards have yet to be made public yet...let alone adopted. September 27, 2012 SCIENCE AND COMMON CORE "The reason Stahlman and Rodriguez don’t spend much time lecturing is because newly instituted Common Core standards call for students to perform inquiry-based learning, with teachers on hand to help students if they become stuck." >>read more>> |
| October 5, 2012 EMPOWERING PA'S PARENTS "Those still advancing the claim that more dollars make more scholars need look no further than the Harrisburg School District. Despite a price tag of more than $18,000 a year per student, the district failed to meet minimum standards for the 10th consecutive year, with 7 out of 10 students unable to show proficiency in reading and math." >>read more>> |
| October 2, 2012 YES, MARC TUCKER, THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT CHOICE IS EFFECTIVE "But above all, the claim that choice and competition have produced no evidence of success is, at best, disingenuous. The record, so easily accessible, shows otherwise." >>read more>> |
| September 30, 2012 PA MUST PULL PARENT TRIGGER TO SAVE EDUCATION "Simply put, the parent trigger allows parents to take greater control over a public school that consistently fails to educate their children...With seven states now adopting similar laws that put parental and student interests before those of government unions, it’s time Pennsylvania lawmakers pull the parent trigger lest the final word on King’s dream becomes unreachable." >>read more>> |
| September 24, 2012 GOVERNMENT MUST STOP PUNISHING PARENTS WHO CREATE THEIR OWN SCHOOL CHOICE "It’s a moral crime when government forces children from low-income families to attend sub-par, dangerous schools." >>read more>> |
| September 19, 2012 YOUNG, GIFTED AND NEGLECTED “With their support for school choice, Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama have both edged toward recognizing that kids aren’t all the same and schools shouldn’t be, either. Yet fear of seeming elitist will most likely keep them from proposing more exam schools. Which is ironic and sad, considering where they went to school. Smart kids shouldn’t have to go to private schools or get turned away from Bronx Science or Thomas Jefferson simply because there’s no room for them.” >>read more>> |
| September 17, 2012 CHICAGO STRIKE SHOWS WHY WE NEED SCHOOL CHOICE “Eighty-six percent of the kids in Chicago’s public schools are minority kids from low income families. Meaning and teaching of right and wrong is what these kids need. Whatever compromise the unions and the mayor reach won’t matter to them. What they need is school choice.” >>read more>> |
| August 29, 2012 FLORIDA INCREASES TAX CAP FOR SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM “Tax credit and voucher programs improve public schools, said Matthew Ladner, a senior adviser to the Florida-based Foundation for Excellence in Education…When public school officials know parents can easily send their children elsewhere, they are more likely to listen to parents and improve, Ladner said.” >>read more>> |
| August 28, 2012 A WHIRLWIND OF EDUCATION REFORM IN INDIANA “Daniels' voucher program pays less than what it would cost to have that student in public school, which cuts down on the state's education costs.” >>read more>> |
| Summer 2012 SPECIAL CHOICES: DO VOUCHER SCHOOLS SERVE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES? "What we do know, with considerable certainty, is that while the percentage of students in the voucher schools with disabilities is substantially lower than the disability rate in the public schools, it is at least four times higher than public officials have claimed. These statistical findings reinforce our views that the sectors cannot be easily compared to one another on this particular metric, because they operate under different legal obligations, financial incentives, and cultural norms. Special education is special in very different ways in public schools and in voucher programs." >>read more>> |
| August 13, 2012 LOUISIANA TEACHER SAYS SOME PARENTS AREN’T SMART ENOUGH TO MAKE SCHOOL CHOICE DECISIONS "Across the nation, parental dissatisfaction with public schools and declining academic results have combined to push lawmakers and decision makers to accept a new reality: Traditional public education isn’t always the best option for all students." >>read more>> |
| August 2, 2012 CONDOLEEZZA RICE MAKES COMPELLING CASE FOR SCHOOL CHOICE, CRITICIZES CLASS WARFARE RHETORIC “Rice…celebration, picked up Friedman’s call to liberate students from failing schools and allow them to use government education dollars to enroll in the public, private or parochial schools that best fit their needs. She echoed Friedman’s belief that school choice is most important for children from lower income families, who are frequently forced to attend failing schools in dangerous urban neighborhoods. She said poor kids should have the same access to quality schools as children from more affluent families.” >>read more>> |
| July 31, 2012 TAX-CREDIT PROGRAM OFFERS NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO FAMILIES LIVING NEAR LOW-ACHIEVING SCHOOLS “Students who live in the attendance areas of the state’s 414 low-achieving schools are eligible to receive an Opportunity Scholarship to attend a private school or another public school. The scholarships are for up to $8,500 for regular education students and up to $15,000 for special-education students.” >>read more>> |
| July 31, 2012 FRIEDMAN’S LEGACY OF FIGHTING FOR SCHOOL CHOICE FOR ALL “On the late Milton Friedman’s 100th birthday today, his word are truer than ever: ‘There is no respect in which inhabitants of a low-income neighborhood are so disadvantaged as in the kind of schooling they can get for their children.’ “ >>read more>> |
| July 28, 2012 SCHOOL BULLIES ID'D – THE TEACHERS UNION! “Chavous, a former D.C. City Council member who has also worked for years to reform education in Louisiana, reiterated that the recent LAE move was unprecedented in its callousness. ‘Personal power should never, ever be put ahead of the best interest of disadvantaged children,’ Chavous said. ‘These union leaders have no shame.’ ” >>read more>> |
| July 23, 2012 TAXPAYERS BENEFIT FROM SCHOOL CHOICE "School choice saves—it saves students from violent and failing schools, and it saves taxpayers money by educating children at a lower cost." >>read more>> |
| July 16, 2012 MASSIVE STRATEGIC VICTORY FOR KIDS “Under the current system, the government assigns children to the schools it runs – and the establishment passes the buck or blames everyone else when they fail to educate the children in their care. School choice means schools must deliver a quality education now – not in another five, 10 or 20 years – or watch their students leave for better schools.” >>read more>> |
| July 10, 2012 COURT DENIES UNIONS & SCHOOL BOARDS’ REQUEST TO STOP LOUISIANA’S INNOVATIVE SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM “(I)t means that students using scholarships in New Orleans’ preexisting program can continue to do so. Had the unions and school boards succeeded in stopping the program in New Orleans, the result would have been a devastating disruption to their education.” >>read more>> |
| July 2, 2012 PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATE TAX CREDIT WILL PAY FOR PRIVATE-SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS "Gov. Corbett, who has pushed hard for a school-voucher program, achieved much of that goal Saturday night through the expansion of a corporate tax credit that for the first time will pay for public school students to attend private schools." >>read more>> Related article: June 30, 2012 REACH ALLIANCE APPLAUDS GOV. CORBETT, STATE LEGISLATURE FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO SCHOOL CHOICE "The bill increases the funding for the EITC by $25 million, for a total of $100 million. Recognized as a national model and the best example of public-private partnership in Pennsylvania, the EITC program has allowed more than 40,000 students to attend the school of their choice in this school year alone, and hundreds of public school initiatives would have gone unfunded without this program." >>read more>> |
| June 22, 2012 REPUBLICANS TURN THEIR BACKS ON BLACK KIDS "Republicans in Pennsylvania can change the political landscape of their state by helping black aspirations for education freedom. But in a state some analysts see as conceivably swinging into the Republican column, Republicans are blowing it." >>read more>> |
| June 19, 2012 SCHOOL CHOICE IN D.C. SAVED…FOR NOW “President Obama has begun "evolving" his positions on various policy issues as polls show him neck and neck with Mitt Romney. His latest about-face restores a popular school voucher program for needy children in Washington, D.C.—after he had yanked its funding.” >>read more>> |
| June 15, 2012 KEYSTONE STATE KOP-OUT ON SCHOOL CHOICE "The question is raised by Pennsylvania's continued failure to enact school vouchers, even as Harrisburg has been run for two years by Republicans who campaigned on school choice. Gov. Tom Corbett has talked the talk, calling education "the civil rights issue of the 21st century," blasting a system in which "some students are consigned to failure because of their ZIP codes," and identifying vouchers as his top educational priority. But with legislators' summer break approaching on June 30 (and elections dominating the calendar after that), vouchers are already off the table. Apparently the fury of teachers unions would be too much for the Keystone State to bear." >>read more>> |
| June 12, 2012 VOUCHERS UNSPOKEN, ROMNEY HAILS SCHOOL CHOICE "Mr. Romney would seek to overhaul the federal government’s largest programs for kindergarten through 12th grade into a voucher like system. Students would be free to use $25 billion in federal money to attend any school they choose — public, charter, online or private — a system, he said, that would introduce marketplace dynamics into education to drive academic gains." >>read more>> |
| June 7, 2012 EDUCATION REFORM IS MUCH MORE THAN PARTISAN POLITICS “Say what you want, but the truth is that the emerging cry for parental choice is warranted, and it's not coming from the Republican Party playbook. In fact, the national education revolution is being driven by low-income parents who are disgusted with the fact that they are forced to send their kids to bad schools with no other options.” >>read more>> |
| June 6, 2012 POLL FINDS LIKELY MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY FAVOR MORE SCHOOL CHOICE “Whether in the form of charter public schools, vouchers for students in failing schools, or programs under which corporations and individuals receive tax credits for charitable contributions that fund school choice options, likely Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly support educational choice, according to a poll conducted by David Paleologos’ firm, DAPA Research, for Pioneer Institute.” >>read more>> |
| May 30, 2012 VOUCHERS WILL TEAR DOWN THE ‘BERLIN WALL’ OF EDUCATION “America has its own Berlin Wall. It is called K-12 education. As schools let out for summer vacation, far too many parents, particularly low-income parents, are trapped behind the wall of their zip code or family income. They have no real freedom to send their child to a school that works best for them, and far too often they are forced to attend woefully underperforming schools or schools that just don’t meet their child’s individual learning needs.” >>read more>> |
| May 11, 2012 THE FISCAL EFFECTS OF SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS ON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS "(R)esearch shows that all forms of school choice tried in the United States have led to improvement in academic outcomes for students who remain in public schools or have led to no effect on academic outcomes for students who remain in public schools. Thus, the evidence on academic outcomes is one-sided. Greater school choice does not harm academic outcomes for students who remain in public schools. >>read more>> |
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Book Review: WHY AMERICA NEEDS SCHOOL CHOICE |
| Summer 2012 SPECIAL CHOICES “What we do know, with considerable certainty, is that while the percentage of students in the voucher schools with disabilities is substantially lower than the disability rate in the public schools, it is at least four times higher than public officials have claimed. These statistical findings reinforce our views that the sectors cannot be easily compared to one another on this particular metric, because they operate under different legal obligations, financial incentives, and cultural norms. Special education is special in very different ways in public schools and in voucher programs.” >>read more>> |
| May 9, 2012 ON SCHOOL TAX CREDIT'S BIRTHDAY, LAWMAKERS & ADVOCATES RENEW CALL FOR SCHOOL CHOICE "State legislators have the chance now to save themselves from the judgement of history--on the subject of school choice, at least--according to Rep. Jim Christiana, R-Beaver. Christiana, like the other half dozen legislators who spoke at the 11th birthday rally for the Education Improvement Tax Credit, made the event a showcase of rhetoric and calls to action." >>read more>> |
| April 30, 2012 HERITAGE FOUNDATION'S JENNIFER MARSHALL CALLS FOR PARENT CHOICE IN EDUCATION "Choice is critically important as an accountability mechanism and as a finance reform. We need to think about different kinds of financing than the way that education is happening right now. Money should follow the students. Right now we are more worried about funding buildings and that’s ridiculous. That is why I began with the nature of what education is. If it’s a fundamentally relational endeavor and it’s about the whole child, well the dollars should be following the child, not the system or the school." >>read more>> |
| April 27, 2012 GOVERNOR JINDAL’S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS: WHY THEY MATTER "The lessons taught to Louisiana children will be many as a result of these reforms, but there’s a lesson here for chief executives in other states, too. Since 2003, Governor Jindal has focused on improving the education system in his state not only because he wants to secure the future of Louisiana’s children, but because he believes that parents should have the right to choose how and where their children are educated." >>read more>> |
| April 13, 2012 LA. SCHOOL CHOICE OPTIONS EXPAND AFTER SWEEPING EDUCATION OVERHAUL "Over the objections of teachers’ unions and many Democrats, Louisiana’s Republican governor and GOP-controlled legislature have crafted one of the most exhaustive education overhauls of any state in the country, through measures that will dramatically expand families’ access to public money to cover the costs of both private school tuition and individual courses offered by a menu of providers." >>read more>> |
| April 11, 2012 SCHOOL CHOICE: WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS "With the importance of educational success to keep America competitive, lawmakers need to embrace the school choice programs that have a proven positive effect. Expanding school choice will improve public schools and student performance, helping to adequately prepare the next generation." >>read more>> |
| April 11, 2012 WHY NOT EMBRACE SCHOOL VOUCHERS? “What about formulating a new standard in deciding education policy? One based upon whether children will learn as a result of the proposal. And in the meantime, as we decide on larger school district reform measures, why not offer as many quality options as possible to those kids who can't wait for systemic reform to take hold? Options like charter schools, home schooling, digital learning, magnet schools, specialty schools and yes, even school vouchers. “ >>read more>> |
| April 11, 2012 SCHOOL VOUCHERS GAIN GROUND “Louisiana is poised to establish the nation's most expansive system of school choice by adopting a package of vouchers and other tools that would give many parents control over the use of tax dollars to educate their children. The initiative would effectively redefine vouchers, which have typically helped lower-income public-school students pay for private schools. Vouchers could now also be used by students to pay for state-approved apprenticeships at local businesses, as well as college courses and private online classes, while they are still in public schools.” >>read more>> |
| March 27, 2012 SCHOOL CHOICE IN MILWAUKEE INCREASES GRADUATION RATES "The latest analysis of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program finds that students receiving scholarships to attend the school of their choice are more likely to graduate from high school." >>read more>> |
| March 22, 2012 EVIDENCE THAT VOUCHERS WORK " So does school choice help Milwaukee's children? The veteran evaluators' answer is a qualified "yes." Predictably, both the most optimistic and the most pessimistic views of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program have been exaggerated." >>read more>> |
| March 21, 2012 EXPLOSION IN NEW SCHOOL CHOICE LAWS PROOF THAT VOUCHER PROGRAMS HAVE GONE 'MAINSTREAM' "According to figures from the American Federation for Children, this current school year finds some 210,000 students participating in a voucher or tax credit scholarship program, totaling just over $800 million. Those numbers will grow as school choice expands into new states. 'Vouchers' was once considered a dirty word. But now it has become a mainstream education reform that is supported by both political parties." >>read more>> |
| March 19, 2012 THE FISCAL EFFECTS OF SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS ON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS “(S)hows that no school choice program in America has negatively impacted those students left behind in public schools after parents have chosen to send their children elsewhere. In fact, many schools have improved academically after school choice is instituted. How is this possible? School choice costs significantly less per student than public schools spend. Contrary to the claim that school choice will harm public schools financially, the study explains that school districts will be unaffected if they are allowed to keep funding for fixed costs such as building maintenance, transportation, and administration. A "cautious overestimate" of these fixed costs comes in at only 36 percent of the total cost per pupil. All or a portion of the remaining funds can be sent along to the student's new school with no ill-effects.” >>read more>> |
| Summer 2012 SPECIAL EDUCATION AND SCHOOL VOUCHERS "Many private voucher schools have been accused of discriminating against students with disabilities in their admissions process...This (study)suggests strongly that claims against voucher schools of discrimination are unfounded, and merely demonstrate a lack of recognition of the incentives that public and private schools face. In fact, data collection efforts were complicated by voucher schools that chose not to identify disabled students as such because they believed it would do more harm than good." >>read more>> |
| Spring 2012 LET THE DOLLARS FOLLOW THE CHILD "The education system clearly has vast consequences for this nation’s economy, society, and world leadership. The federal government has a crucial role to play in protecting and promoting precisely those national interests that lower levels of government cannot. We believe the most promising approach is to move decisionmaking closer to the consumers of K–12 public education by unleashing pent-up demand and empowering parents to choose schools for their children." >>read more>> |
| Spring 2012 DOES SCHOOL CHOICE REDUCE CRIME? "In this study, I find that winning a lottery for admission to the school of choice greatly reduces criminal activity, and that the greatest reduction occurs among youth at the highest risk for committing crimes. The impacts persist beyond the initial years of school enrollment, seven years after the school-choice lottery was held. The findings suggest that schools may be an opportune setting for the prevention of future crime. Many high-risk youth drop out of school at a young age and are incarcerated for serious crimes prior to the age of high school graduation. For these youth, who are on the margins of society, public schools may present the best opportunity for intervention." >>read more>> |
| March 2, 2012 MILWAUKEE PARENTAL CHOICE PROGRAM "The studies found, on the whole, that most academic metrics were improved through gradually increasing participation in MPCP schools. This strongly suggests that this program can serve as a viable alternative to traditional, state-run schools for educational outcomes." >>read more>> |
| February 27, 2012 New Study Shows Higher Graduation, Achievement Rates for Milwaukee Voucher Students “Students enrolled in the Milwaukee voucher program are more likely to graduate from high school and go to college than their public school counterparts, boast significantly improved reading scores, represent a more diverse cross-section of the city, and are improving the results of traditional public school students, according to a comprehensive evaluation of the program released today.” >>read more>> |
| February 21, 2012 WHAT RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE (written by 9 scholars & analysts) "We have diverse viewpoints on many issues, but we share a common commitment to helping inform public decisions with such evidence as science is legitimately able to provide. We do not offer false certainty about a future none of us knows. But the early evidence is promising, and the grounds for concern have been shown to be largely baseless. The case for expanding our ongoing national experiment with school choice is strong." >>read more>> |
| February 9, 2012 COMPETITION & CHOICE BRING REFORM, BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM "Though Finnish educational progress has been major, the reporting and analysis of it, at least in the U.S., has been minor and out of tune. One would never know that choice and competition were key elements in the reforms by reading what teacher educators in the USA laud Finland for...Some education policies in this country have already begun to aim our schools and teachers on the yellow brick road to "creativity," a goal that can't be measured or evaluated objectively, in addition to reducing time on academic learning." >>read more>> |
| February 8, 2012 WISCONSIN VOUCHERS: MONEY VS. STUDENTS "If Green Bay officials truly wanted to help the community’s students, they would be pressing lawmakers to increase educational options for the district’s most disadvantaged students, and would welcome healthy competition that would drive all schools to improve." >>read more>> |
| February 5, 2012 THE FIGHT TO REFORM TO EDUCATION "Would any concerned parent willingly send their children to an average public school in this country if there was an option available? The word “concerned” in the question should be a tipoff that the answer is no. Still, states, localities and the federal government continue to dump billions of our hard-earned tax dollars into a system that is rotten to its core." >>read more>> |
| January 23, 2012 CELEBRATING SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK "This year, leaders at the state level should hear the cries of the families they represent and continue moving toward more school choice in 2012 by expanding options such as school vouchers, tax credits, education savings accounts, and online learning. It’s not a conservative issue or a liberal issue, Republican or Democrat. Ensuring that our children have the best education possible is an American issue, and it’s one that the country should get behind." >>read more>> |
| January 19, 2012 EDUCATIONAL CHOICE IN PA HAS EXPANDED IN PAST 20 YEARS "School choice is advancing in Pennsylvania, even as a public school voucher plan remains stuck in legislative limbo. As the New Year dawns over the state Capitol, lawmakers and lobbyists are geared up for another fight over the creation of a public school voucher program aimed at providing educational options for the children of low-income families who are enrolled in failing public schools." >>read more>> |
| January 15, 2012 SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM, EARNED INCOME CREDIT CAP BOTH ON TABLE "Although, the Senate's voucher proposals may be less likely than an expanded EITC program to pass in the House, they remain viable options until the end of the legislative session." >>read more>> |
| January 15, 2012 LA ONE OF 4 STATES THAT SUBSIDIZES SCHOOL AID "In 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the use of state tax dollars to help pay tuition at private and parochial schools does not violate the First Amendment’s required separation of church and state." >>read more>> |
| January 13, 2012 VICTORY FOR SCHOOL CHOICE IN INDIANA "Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program is perfectly constitutional. That, in a nutshell, was the ruling issued by Marion County Superior Court Judge Michael Keele today in Meredith v. Daniels. The trial court rejected every legal claim brought by the plaintiffs—who are supported by both state and national teachers’ unions—against the program, and it ruled in favor of both the state and two parents who have intervened in the lawsuit in defense of the program." >>read more>> |
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January 12, 2012 kids.'" |
| December 31, 2011 REPUBLICANS FOR MONOPOLY “Unions played their usual false tune that vouchers steal money from public schools, though what they really fear is that vouchers would break their monopoly control over public education. Under the voucher bill, public schools would come out ahead financially since they would be educating fewer students while still receiving local property tax revenues for kids in their district who attend private schools on vouchers.” >>read more>> |
| December 2011 A FUTURE AND A HOPE A discussion of some of the great school choice initiatives that have passed around the country this year. >>read more>> |
| December 2, 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE IN PA IS CURE FOR DISASTER "Lawmakers in the Keystone State can no longer be paralyzed by politics and special interests. It's time to stop the leaky pipe that is failing our kids. The longer they procrastinate, the more taxpayers will be forced to throw good money after bad. School in Pennsylvania is the sure fix to stop the state's flood of disaster that is the current public education system." >>read more>> |
| *November 23, 2011 A FUTURE AND A HOPE "So the question remains: Why are Left-wing groups so persistent in challenging school choice — even when it aids the neediest of children? Deborah Sheasby, legal counsel for the Center for Arizona Policy, said it boils down, in part, to a difference in worldviews.'There are some people who have a worldview that tells them that the government and bureaucrats know what’s best for kids,' she said, 'and that parents should not be entitled to make those decisions. That’s just at odds with the belief system that we have.' " >>read more>> |
| November 15, 2011 WHY 2011 IS THE YEAR OF THE SCHOOL VOUCHER "(T)he push toward vouchers is coming from a new breed of reform-minded politicians from both parties. Once a taboo subject, vouchers are now talked about openly on the campaign trail, and politicians are hiring reformers to run high-profile school systems." >>read more>> |
| November 15, 2011 CONGRESS BACKSLIDES ON SCHOOL REFORM “Teacher accountability and parent choice are the most important aspects of any education reform legislation. They are critical to determining what success should look like and to creating a mechanism for remediation when those standards aren’t met. There is not nearly enough within this new bill to ensure that schools are made to answer for their performance. Nor is there enough to ensure that parents have the ability to protest a failing school with their feet.” >>read more>> |
| November 10, 2011 FORSTMANN'S NOT SO LITTLE IDEA "For years, no more frustrating belief has existed in American domestic politics than the possibility of giving inner-city children a better education. Against the public-school monopoly, sustained forward movement has seemed impossible. That may be changing. This year at least 13 states passed some form of school-choice legislation." >>read more>> |
| November 07, 2011 THOSE TRAPPED IN FAILING SCHOOLS NEED HELP “It didn't take long, however, for the legislation to come under attack, mainly from those ideologically opposed to the voucher program. But for all their bluster, voucher opponents can't seem to deal with two basic questions that voucher supporters are attempting to address: Would you send your child to a school where failure and mayhem are the rule? And what is your plan to immediately help a third-grade student trapped in such a violent, failing school, whose future is slipping away day by day?” >>read more>> |
| School Choice CER’s Interactive Map-a guide to understanding how to make the education sun shine in your state. The CER Education Map provides a unique and compelling look at how the states are doing in providing the critical policy ingredients necessary for effective schools to serve all children. Though individual states may — like real weather patterns — have varying forecasts, the sunny spots are few and far between. Each state has been given an grade for each of several components, and those grades collectively factor into an overall grade and general education weather forecast for that state. As states adopt new policies and programs, the grades may change. >>read more>> |
| November 2, 2011 EDUCATOR NOT ALWAYS VOUCHER ADVOCATE “Rhee once opposed vouchers but changed her stance she became chancellor of the Washington (DC) public school system in 2007. “I'm not going to say to these parents, 'Just give me five years to fix the system,' because their kid doesn't have that time," (said) Rhee… 'My job is not to protect and preserve the district that's been doing a disservice to kids. My job is to make sure kids are getting a good education, and I'm agnostic as to where that's happening.' “ >>read more>> |
| October 30, 2011 VOUCHER CRITICS ARE MISLEADING THE PUBLIC “Critics like to contend the data on vouchers are incomplete or inconclusive…Yet most vouchers analyses conclude their impact is difficult to tease out because programs are so small and the competing monopoly, traditional public schools, so intractable, notes Jay Greene, one of the nation's foremost education researchers. Of the nine best studies -- those using the research ‘gold standard’ of random assignment -- all but one demonstrate significant positive academic benefits from vouchers. (The 10th did not find any difference.)” >>read more>> |
| October 29, 2011 VOUCHERS BEAT STATUS QUO “The state's public education establishment bristled at the state Senate's passage Thursday of a school choice bill that would enable at least some kids to escape some of the worst schools in the commonwealth. They offered no alternative other than the status quo, however, and contended that ever more state funding somehow would make more effective the failed schools at issue.” >>read more>> |
| October 29, 2011 SCHOOL VOUCHERS: FOR SOME, IT’S A CONCERN ABOUT SAFETY “Pennsylvania’s public education system needs help. Every day that passes without enacting meaningful school choice legislation that empowers parents and gives them access to more educational options, countless students slip through the cracks from a future full of hope to a future full of despair….Thousands of children statewide cannot afford to spend another year trapped in a violent, failing school.” >>read more>> |
| October 26, 2011 SCHOOL COMPETITION RESCUES KIDS “For years, American education from kindergarten through high school has been a virtual government monopoly. Conventional wisdom is that government must run the schools. But government monopolies don't do anything well. They fail because they have no real competition.” >>read more>> |
| October 18, 2011 FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY: SCHOOL CHOICE INEVITABLE “Both men said they believe school choice should encompass not only vouchers to help students attend another private or public school of their choosing, but also expanded charter programs and better evaluations to help teachers perform effectively. (All of which are similar to Gov. Tom Corbett's ed plan.)” >>read more>> |
| October 12, 2011 CHOICE, CHARTERS, VOUCHERS PUSHED BY GOVERNOR CORBETT “The plan includes changes for charter schools, new teacher evaluations and an expansion of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, which provides tax credits to businesses offering scholarships.” >>read more>> |
| October 9, 2011 FOR PARENTS, SCHOOL CHOICE IS EASIER THAN BALLOT INITIATIVES “The late Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman, who was the godfather of the modern school-choice movement, observed that the public schools teach ‘a set of values and beliefs that constitute a religion in all but name.’ The current system, he said, forces parents ‘to pay to have their children indoctrinated’ in the public schools. School choice allows children to escape this indoctrination, saves parents the trouble of overturning unpopular policies through initiatives, and forces the government to think twice about politicizing public education.” >>read more>> |
| October 4, 2011 EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: A PROMISING WAY FORWARD ON SCHOOL CHOICE “More than 200,000 children across the country now benefit from private-school choice options such as tuition tax credit programs, vouchers, online learning, and now, Education Savings Accounts. But millions more are assigned to public schools that fail to meet their needs. ESAs provide a promising path forward and are broadening the school choice landscape in vital ways.” >>read more>> |
| October 4, 2011 THE PROMISE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION VOUCHERS “In the fraught arena of school reform, few policy proposals have been more contentious than vouchers. In allocating taxpayer dollars to children whose parents want them to leave failing public schools to attend private and parochial institutions, voucher programs have drawn the ire of teachers' unions and church-state separatists, as well as these groups' political allies. And yet, despite discord and setbacks, vouchers seem to be experiencing a resurgence, specifically those programs targeting students with disabilities, says Marcus Winters, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute.” >>read more>> |
| October 1, 2011 THE LATEST CRIME WAVE: SENDING YOUR CHILD TO A BETTER SCHOOL "Only in a world where irony is dead could people not marvel at concerned parents being prosecuted for stealing a free public education for their children." >>read more>> |
| September 29, 2011 FAILURE’S ROOTS IN SCHOOL OR POVERTY? "The only way to close the achievement gap is for parents to get involved, Perry thinks, by moving their children to successful schools. 'If you are a failing school, I think you should be shut down,' he said, either by the elimination of funding or by allowing students to leave. 'You're leaving (students) behind by leaving them in failing schools.' " >>read more>> |
| September 1, 2011 PA NEEDS TO EMULATE INDIANA’S SCHOOL CHOICE PLAN “When we spend vast sums keeping kids in schools where education is not occurring we are wasting scarce monetary resources and the children’s time. An immoral act if there ever was one. By letting parents choose the school that best fits their child’s needs, the goal of a better education is closer to being realized. It is now up to Pennsylvania to step up and make it happen.” >>read more>> |
| August 29, 2011 MORE SCHOOL CHOICE THAN EVER “Step by step, educational options are expanding for students around the nation. Each new school year will hopefully bring with it even greater options for school choice, ensuring that all families can look forward to each academic year with the assurance that their child will be receiving the best education possible.” >>read more>> |
| August 29, 2011 THOUSANDS LEAVE PUBLIC FOR PRIVATE INDIANA SCHOOLS “Weeks after Indiana began the nation's broadest school voucher program, thousands of students have transferred from public to private schools, causing a spike in enrollment at some Roman Catholic institutions that were only recently on the brink of closing for lack of pupils.” >>read more>> |
| Fall 2011 THE PUBLIC WEIGHS IN ON SCHOOL REFORM “Public education has rarely been far from the national headlines over the past year. Efforts to limit teachers’ collective-bargaining rights led to mass protests in several states. The enactment of voucher programs renewed the debate over the role of private school choice in American education. Meanwhile, the first significant budget cuts in recent memory forced public school districts to tighten their belts in unprecedented ways.” >>read more>> |
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August 18, 2011
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| August 8, 2011 THE IMPACT OF OHIO’S VOUCHER PROGRAM ON PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE "In 2005 Ohio's legislature enacted the Educational Choice Scholarship program (EdChoice), which provides vouchers to students in chronically underperforming schools, allowing them to attend private and religious schools. Matthew Carr, a research fellow in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, evaluates the effects of the EdChoice voucher program on the academic performance of traditional public schools. Specifically, he investigates how exposure to the threat of losing students to the voucher program affected standardized test performance in traditional public schools." "The Impact of Ohio's EdChoice on Traditional Public School Performance," Cato Journal, Summer 2011. |
| August 1, 2011 THE POOR ARE NOT POOR BECAUSE THE RICH ARE RICH Star Parker discusses the importance of education and school choice in improving the economic levels of Blacks in American society. >>read more>> |
| July 19, 2011 TWO NEW STUDIES SHOW BENEFITS OF SCHOOL CHOICE “As the debate on school choice continues in PA, a couple recent studies highlight the benefits of school voucher programs in the U.S. and internationally.” >>read more>> |
| July 13, 2011 THE YEAR OF SCHOOL CHOICE—BUT NOT FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN KIDS IN NYC “Despite progress in many places, New York City children, many of them African-American, may not be able to return to charters or start in them anew in the fall due to a lawsuit instituted against the NYC’s Department of Education by what would seem to be a tragically ironic twosome: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).” >>read more>> |
| July 5, 2011 THE YEAR OF SCHOOL CHOICE “But choice is essential to driving reform because it erodes the union-dominated monopoly that assigns children to schools based on where they live. Unions defend the monopoly to protect jobs for their members, but education should above all serve students and the larger goal of a society in which everyone has an opportunity to prosper.” >>read more>> |
| July 1, 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE MAKES HISTORY-MORE STATES ENACT, EXPAND SCHOOL CHOICE IN 2011 THAN EVER BEFORE “More states have passed school voucher or scholarship tax credit legislation in 2011 than ever before, according to an analysis by the American Federation for Children—the nation’s voice for school choice.” >>read more>> |
| July 1, 2011 NORTH CAROLINA EMPOWERS FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS “North Carolina becomes the eighth state to enact a private school choice program for children with special needs. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah also offer programs—benefiting more than 26,000 children in the 2010-2011 school year.” >>read more>> |
| June 30, 2011 OHIO’S DRAMATIC EXPANSION OF SCHOOL CHOICE PRAISED BY NATION’S ORIGINAL VOUCHER ORGANIZATION “With two expanded school choice programs and one new program, Ohio joins a true education reform revolution....‘Ohio’s bold reforms will ensure that school choice grows in the state until every family has the freedom to choose how to educate their child, and until every child receives an effective education that prepares him or her for success in life,’ said Enlow.” ( President and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice). >>read more>> |
| June 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE: LEGISLATION STATE BY STATE “This memo summarizes and analyzes private school choice legislation introduced in 2011 across the nation. School choice programs provide opportunities for students to access a quality education and allow parents to choose the education they determine is best for their children.” >>read more>> |
| June 26, 2011 WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER SIGNS HISTORIC SCHOOL CHOICE EXPANSION INTO LAW “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker today signed into law the largest expansion to the state’s school choice programs in history. The expansion will benefit thousands of children from the state’s low- and middle-income families and sends a strong signal to the nation that educational equality is possible with strong leadership from state legislators and executives.” >>read more>> |
| June 27, 2011 BOTTOM LINE: VOUCHERS CAN HELP NEEDIEST CHILDREN “The truth is those opposed to vouchers appear to care more about adults than these underprivileged children. Why else would they support a status quo where we spend almost $20,000 per student in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and less than 53 percent of kids in failing districts score proficient in reading and math on the PSSA in 2009-10? These kids can’t wait another year — they need to be rescued now.” >>read more>> |
| June 24, 2011 CORBETT GEARS UP FOR PUSH ON SCHOOL VOUCHERS “Corbett's effort to win approval for vouchers, taxpayer-paid documents that parents could use to send their children to private or parochial schools, is the first major effort in the state House and Senate in more than a decade.... Christiana's bill would make school vouchers available to low-income children who attend the lowest-performing 5 percent of Pennsylvania schools.” >>read more>> |
| June 21, 2011 THESE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: SCHOOL VOUCHERS ARE PENNSYLVANIA’S ONLY CHOICE “While not a panacea, school choice has proved a worthy alternative. Nearly every empirically based study shows that school choice programs increase academic achievement for students and improve public schools through competition. No study has ever shown harmful effects to scholarship recipients or public schools.” >>read more>> |
| June 21, 2011 CORBETT OPEN TO VOUCHER COMPROMISE TO GET LEGISLATION PASSED “Gov. Tom Corbett wants to see a school voucher program enacted by June 30 and would support a compromise to scale the program back to two years from the four years he wanted, his spokesman said Monday.” >>read more>> |
| June 20, 2011 NEXT TWO DAYS WILL DETERMINE OUTCOME OF SCHOOL CHOICE BATTLE “State Rep. Curt Schroder introduced legislation Monday that allows every child — including home-schoolers — to be eligible for a $5,000 voucher for tuition at a private or parochial school. The bill would not determine the value of the voucher based on the student’s district and would not restrict voucher eligibility based on income, which differentiates it from similar proposals unveiled this year.” >>read more>> Related article: June 20, 2011 PA HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS-SCHOOL CHOICE ADVOCATES TOUT SCHRODER BILLS AS SENSIBLE ALTERNATIVES TO SENATE BILL 1 “A school failing in its mission is failing all kids, not just those from low-income families,” said Schroder. “House Bill 1679, known as the Failing Schools Student Rescue Act, is a broad-based school choice bill that would offer a $5,000 voucher to all students who attend or live within the attendance boundaries of a persistently low achieving school. Unlike Senate Bill 1, which establishes income limits for voucher eligibility, my legislation ensures all students attending a failing school would receive a school choice option.” >>read more>> |
| June 17, 2011 WISCONSIN LEGISLATURE PASSES BUDGET EXPANDING NATION’S OLDEST SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM “The budget’s school choice provisions will give the MPCP—the nation’s oldest private school choice program—the broadest participation of any voucher program in the country. A study conducted early this year by a professor at the University of Minnesota showed that students participating in the MPCP, which was enacted in 1990, graduate at rates that are 18 points higher than students in Milwaukee Public Schools. It is also estimated that the MPCP will save Wisconsin taxpayers more than $50 million this fiscal year, according to an exhaustive evaluation of the program conducted late last year.” >>read more>> |
| June 16, 2011 THE YEAR OF SCHOOL CHOICE: 42 STATES CONSIDER SCHOOL VOUCHERS, SCHOLARSHIP TAX CREDITS IN 2011 “If these bills pass, millions of children would have the opportunity to attend the private schools of their parents' choice, demonstrating historic momentum for the popular educational choice movement.” >>read more>> |
| June 16, 2011 A SCHOOL CHOICE FIRST IN NORTH CAROLINA “Should the bill become law, North Carolina parents of students with special needs can claim an independent tax credit for expenses related to private school tuition and other educational services. Specifically, those families can receive a non-refundable tax credit worth up to $6,000 annually.” >>read more>> |
| May 12, 2011 PASS SENATE BILL ONE NOW Philadelphia Fox 29 General manager Patrick Paolini voices his opinion on Senate Bill One. >>read more>> |
| May 6, 2011 INDIANA’S GREAT EDUCATION LEAP “School choice is gaining new momentum, and one of the biggest political breakthroughs came this week in Indiana. Governor Mitch Daniels signed legislation Thursday that includes far-reaching reforms in teacher assessment and tenure, as well the most ambitious voucher program in memory.” >>read more>> OVERVIEW OF INDIANA SCHOOL CHOICE BILL “HB 1003 establishes a new school voucher program, expands Indiana’s preexisting tax credit scholarship program and institutes a tax deduction for families with children homeschooled or already enrolled in private school.” >>read more>> |
| May 5, 2011 THE NECESSITY OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN PENNSYLVANIA “Far too many children are trapped in failing schools. Only 21 out of 355 schools in the Pittsburgh region have 90% or more of fifth-graders proficient in both reading and math. 30% of fifth-graders cannot read at their grade level, and similarly 30% cannot do math at grade level. Underperforming schools do not only affect families with school-age children; they affect the whole region and state.” >>read more>> |
| May 3, 2011 THE EVIDENCE IS IN: SCHOOL VOUCHERS WORK “Research gathered by Greg Forster of the Foundation for Educational Choice … says that ‘every empirical study ever conducted in Milwaukee, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Maine and Vermont finds that voucher programs in those places improved public schools.’ “ >>read more>> |
| April 25, 2011 THE RESURRECTION OF SCHOOL CHOICE “Easter Monday is a good day to celebrate a resurrection story – in this case, the resurrection of a movement to rescue children trapped in failing public schools.” >>read more>> |
| April 21, 2011 SUPREME COURT’S WISE DECISION FAVORS ARIZONA SCHOOL CHOICE “The ACLU’s cartoonish and ominous depiction of the Arizona system inaccurately paints it as an underhanded method of funneling government money to religious schools. But there is a clear, obvious, nonreligious public policy reason for state lawmakers to approve the tuition tax credit plan: It helps Arizona children receive the best education, tailored just for them, at a fraction of the state’s cost of educating them at public schools.” >>read more>> |
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April 4, 2011 |
| March 31, 2011 KASICH SIGNS BILL TO LIMIT UNION BARGAINING RIGHTS “It prevents unions from negotiating wages but not health care, sick time or pension benefits. It also eliminates automatic pay increases and bans strikes.” >>read more>> |
| March 30, 2011 SCHOOL CHOICE: A REAL TEST AWAITS That’s really what school choice is about -- giving kids a chance to learn in a safe environment with good teachers, so they can go on to achieve that success. Some day, people will “look back” on how today’s politicians responded to this crisis. What grade will they deserve? >>read more>> |
| March 30, 2011 INDIANA HOUSE PASSES NATION’S LARGEST VOUCHER BILL The Indiana House of Representatives today passed legislation that would become the nation's broadest voucher program, allowing low- and middle-income families to use taxpayer funds to send their children to the private school of their choice. >>read more>> |
| *March 23, 2011 A WIN-WIN SOLUTION: THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON SCHOOL VOUCHERS "This report collects the results of all available empirical studies using the best available scientific methods to measure how school vouchers affect academic outcomes for participants, and all available studies on how vouchers affect outcomes in public schools. Contrary to the widespread claim that vouchers do not benefit participants and hurt public schools, the empirical evidence consistently shows that vouchers improve outcomes for both participants and public schools." View PDF |
| March 16, 2011 COLORADO SCHOOL BOARD ENACTS VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM, MAKES HISTORY “On Tuesday night the Douglas County R-1 Board of Education unanimously approved a wide-ranging set of reforms that expand school choice, including the adoption of a groundbreaking program that will provide publicly-funded "choice scholarships" to cover or defray private school tuition.” >>read more>> |
| September 6, 2010 JOURNAL: ‘SCHOOL VOUCHER BREAKOUT’ “The Wall Street Journal on Monday declared back-to-school week as ‘an encouraging season for education reform.’ The editors pointed to an unlikely “bipartisan political breakout on vouchers” in Pennsylvania.” >>read more<< |
| August 23, 2010 THE TRIUMPH OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN NEW ORLEANS “Over the past five years, New Orleans has turned tragedy into triumph. It has quickly become the most market based school district in the country. The state of Louisiana took over most of the schools in the district and turned them into successful charter schools. “ >>read more<< |
| August 18, 2010 EDUCATIONAL EQUITY HITS 2 MILLION CHILDREN MARK AS REFORMERS DEMAND RENEWED ACTION “Studies from reputable scholars and researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that...equity can indeed be achieved by passing strong charter school and school choice programs. Research indicates that school choice has raised standards in public schools, increased student graduation rates, stimulated performance pay for teachers, and increased parental demands to close failing schools.” >>read more<< |
| August 11, 2010 NEW RESEARCH: PARENTS, REGARDLESS OF INCOME, KNOW WHETHER THEIR SCHOOLS ARE GOOD OR NOT “Parents of all socioeconomic, educational and ethnic backgrounds are accurately judging school quality based on student achievement, contradicting the contention that poor parents aren’t that aware of the academic quality of their local schools.” >>read more<< |
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