The number of states that have added an option to allow some or all of the funds for K-12 education in public schools to follow the children appears to be causing issues with....teachers unions. In the following article from The Washington Examiner they spell out some of the efforts and tactics teachers unions are going to try and stop "choice" Voters in Nebraska are likely to weigh in on the state's school choice program after a group submitted more than 100,000 signatures last week, seeking to force a ballot referendum. The effort seeks to repeal a state law passed this year that established a $25 million tax credit program for donors who give money to a scholarship fund that … [Read more...]
Here are the top education issues state lawmakers battled over this year
An interesting article we came across and offer for your consideration. It was published at The Hill by Lexi Lonas Democrats and Republicans went head-to-head on education policy in state legislatures this year, with each side pulling out both wins and losses as many statehouses close their legislative sessions. The heart of much of the fighting lay in culture war issues led by Republicans, from how lessons about race and gender should be taught to what type of books students should be allowed to read. Here were the top education issues state lawmakers grappled with this year: School choice The new measure that was most successful for school choice this legislative … [Read more...]
School Choice Voucher Program – Update
So which states have taken action on school vouchers? Here's what our searches have produced: https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/interactive-guide-to-school-choice.aspx Welcome to NCSL’s Interactive Guide to School Choice. School choice comes in many different forms and all 50 states plus the District of Columbia provide parents the ability to send their child to a school outside their neighborhood in some way. Charter schools, magnet schools, open enrollment programs and state turnaround districts all provide public school options to parents. School vouchers, education savings accounts and scholarship tax credit programs expand those choices to include private schools. Clicking … [Read more...]
School Choice Update
Given the number of parents that have started peeling back the layers of the onion "school choice" is gaining more traction. Which states have "choice" programs and what do they look like? Today we share a website that is attempting to gather that information: Federation for Children.org https://www.federationforchildren.org/state-programs/ You will find information on 33 states and territories that have started down the "choice" path. Unfortunately you will not find Washington nor Oregon nor California on that list. Given that, politically, these three (3) states are left of center and progressives claim they want whats best for the people (an by default for children) why are they … [Read more...]
Hoosiers Score Benefits from Private School Choice
This is going to be the first in a series of articles looking at alternative choices to public schools and outcomes. Do students going to private schools or charter schools or who are home schooled do better, worse or the same as their counterparts in public schools? We know that public schools have become more expensive that charter or private or home schools. Locally to highest spend per student in a local public school district is over $21,000/student/year. Private schools are less than 1/2 of that. Without further ado let's take a look at an article originally published in Education Next written by Patrick J. Wolf This week the sporting world turns its attention to Indiana as … [Read more...]
School Vouchers – 2021 – Washington State
Representative Vicki Kraft, 17th LD, is going to reintroduce her school voucher legislation in the 2021 session. Following are some news reports of what she will propose: From February 2020 here is an article at CCT: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/rep-vicki-kraft-introduces-bill-to-offer-parental-choice-of-where-their-children-attend-school/ December 7, 2020: https://vickikraft.houserepublicans.wa.gov/2020/12/07/kraft-school-choice-opinion-editorial/ December 8, 2020 this article in The Reflector: http://www.thereflector.com/opinion/article_db09bc56-39b9-11eb-9d24-03c99016ddc4.html Here is a link to two articles we've shared on vouchers: … [Read more...]
State Superintendent of Schools Election – Chris Reykdal: What are his positions on issues? Investigative report
Let’s start out by making it clear that we asked Mr. Reykdal multiple times to respond to questions regarding his positions on key issues. He chose not to respond no matter how many times we reached out. His opponent, Ms. Espinoza, did respond. So...we’ve decided to research what he’s said and done in the past 4 years and share that with you. To be clear this is an investigative report and analysis because he didn’t want to respond. Why wouldn’t he respond? Perhaps because he felt that his answers would hurt his re-election? Perhaps he thought he wouldn’t get his responses posted as he wrote them? In any case we believe that people have the right to know where he stands on key issues that … [Read more...]
The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps to Finding the Right School for Your Child
Book review: Given the unsureness in when public schools will re-start many parents are trying to understand their options. We came across this book and thought you mind find it informative and useful. We are not endorsing the book. We just want you to have information to help you make decisions. Without further ado.... On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/School-Choice-Roadmap-Steps-Finding/dp/0825309328/ The book is $13.49 new or starts at $2.99 used + shipping. It's $8.49 on Kindle; 86% 5 Stars with 10 reviews Reviews from the site: This book is an incredible resource. It’s easy to read and encouraging to even the most frustrated parents. With so many options available … [Read more...]
Study: Vouchers Improve Public School Performance
In our continuing exploration of public vs. non-public school choices we bring you an article published at The National Bureau of Economic Research written by: David N. Figlio, Cassandra M.D. Hart, Krzysztof Karbownik To access the full study you need to pay a $5 fee. A summary of the article was published on Breitbart. A summary from the study is here: NBER Working Paper No. 26758 Issued in February 2020 NBER Program(s):Program on Children, Economics of Education Program Using a rich dataset that merges student-level school records with birth records, and a student fixed effect design, we explore how the massive scale-up of a Florida private school choice program affected public … [Read more...]
Public school monopoly harms children?
Public schools were formed why? To improve the education of children? To improve society? To create better workers? We came across an interesting article at The Heritage Foundation titled "Universal School Choice Is Needed—Your Address Shouldn’t Limit Your Child’s Future". The author is Lindsey M. Burke, Ph.D.@lindseymburke The article supports our contention that school choice is important to improving the quality of education. Parental choice needs to be part of the equation. Competition is good. Currently, in Washington State, schools consume an estimated 53% of the entire state budget and rising. In 2020 many tax payers are seeing significant increases of which 75% or more is … [Read more...]