DeGrow Highlights Growing School Choice Popularity on Family News in Focus
Senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow shared his thoughts on the “Year of School Choice” — the growing number of states that have introduced and adopted voucher and tax credit legislation — on a one-minute national Family News in Focus radio report. Noting the trend, Ben explained: “The Republican takeover of many state legislatures has really […]
Education Next Survey Shows Support for Vouchers Rising, Other Reforms Flat
Little Eddie is busy today, so all I’m going to do for today is point you to the results of the 2011 Education Next–PEPG Survey of Public Opinion on school reform issues. The big takeaway?
Our findings reveal more stability than change in public opinion over the five years since the Education Next–PEPG survey began, suggesting […]
Digital Learning Grows, Local Union Sent Packing: School Reform News Utah Two-fer
What is it about our neighbors to the west? A couple months ago I brought your attention to Utah’s new law providing accountability to the use of teachers union release time. But there’s more going on in the Beehive State that has captured our attention here. Within the past month my Education Policy Center friend […]
Another Colorado “Edu-Trial” Opens Today: Defending Dougco Choice from Injunction
Colorado’s second big”edu-trial” of the week started on August 2, with a Denver District Court judge set to consider a motion for a preliminary injunction against the Douglas County Choice Scholarship program. There’s still plenty of good reason to wonder what took so long to try and disrupt families’ lives with the threat of an injunction if it was so urgent for the ACLU & Company. Stick with us for the most comprehensive coverage of the groundbreaking local choice program.
Lobato Case Round 2 Starts Today: Of Adequacy, Taxes, Graphs and Rational Bases
Senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow shares with the Colorado Springs Gazette his comments on the court overseeing school finance and tax policy, as the five-week district court hearing in the Lobato school funding case gets underway.
Year of School Choice a Great Birthday Present in Milton Friedman’s Honor
The birthday of the late, great economist Milton Friedman is in two days. He would have been 99 years old. Since the anniversary of Friedman’s birth falls on a Sunday and I won’t be blogging then, what better time to commemorate him and his passionate life’s work to expand school choice? In the Education Policy […]
For the Kids, Please, D.C. Leaders Need to Streamline Department of Education
Judging by some of the grumbling I hear from my parents lately, there’s a big hubbub in Washington, D.C., about people in government borrowing bazillions of dollars and not paying it back — or something like that. Which reminds me… You really ought to watch this 2-minute video put together by my friends at the […]
Save Our Schools… Huh?
So apparently there’s some big national march called “Save Our Schools” or something like that. I told you about it a month ago. While the good people at the National Council on Teacher Quality took a conciliatory approach to pointing out the flaws in the “SOS” program. But the award goes to Sara Mead, writing […]
If It’s So Urgent, Why Did ACLU & Co. Wait So Long to Stop Dougco Vouchers?
Some groups like the ACLU have their reasons for wanting to shut down the Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program and take educational opportunities away from about 500 kids. Here we stand one week away from the start of a legal hearing to determine whether the legal request to enjoin the choice program should be granted. But if it’s such a big deal to keep families from choosing new schools, why did they wait so long — when it only could lead to major disruptions?
NCTQ Student Teacher Study Raises Valid Questions for Colorado K-12 Education
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I have a great deal of respect for the work of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). As I pointed out a few months ago, NCTQ has been spearheading an important review of the university programs that prepare teachers for K-12 schools […]
School District Sending Flyers + Kids as Props (- Permission) = Bad Tax Hike PR
Good thing my parents don’t have any kids enrolled in Brighton Public Schools. Nothing per se against the school district northeast of Denver. But I can only imagine my mom and dad’s reaction if they got one of those tax hike-supporting political flyers in this year’s school information packet. Probably something like what one mom […]
Stories of Special Needs Kids Bolster Dougco, Arizona Choice Programs
It was just last week I introduced you to a new video produced by my friends in the Education Policy Center that highlighted one family’s story to show why the Douglas County vouchers are needed to help save students. (Wouldn’t you like to see more of these brief video profiles that tell the real stories […]
