Merit Academy: A Story of Perseverance
Merit Academy: A Story of Perseverance tells the eventful story of how citizens in the small community of Woodland Park realized a gap in educational options. Determined to meet the needs of families, they worked against all odds so that families wouldn’t have to drive their children long distances to other communities. Read about Merit […]
Liberty Common Charter School: Excellence in Education
In Liberty Common Charter School: Excellence in Education, Senior Fellow in Education Policy Ross Izard shares the success of a Fort Collins parent-led public charter school that meets the standard of excellence. Liberty Common is a K-12 public charter school authorized by the Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colorado. Students in kindergarten through grade eight […]
An Overview of Colorado K-12 Career and Technical Education
Over the past several decades Career and Technical Education (CTE) has emerged as a robust avenue for promoting educational options for public school students ranging from those who would have been traditionally served by vocational education programs to college-bound students in high demand fields.
Power Technical: Preparing Educated and Ethical Leaders in the Trades
Power Technical (PTEC) is a career and technical education-focused public charter school in the James Irwin Charter Schools network. Authorized by Falcon District 49, the school serves students from across the Colorado Springs area who choose to pursue an education built around preparation for careers in skilled trades.
Will the Supreme Court strike down bigoted state constitutional rules?
[T]he history of anti-sectarian clauses shows that “sectarian” is not a synonym for “religious” and anti-sectarian clauses were not designed merely to discriminate against religion. Instead, they were designed to discriminate in favor of some religions and against others.
2019 School Board Candidate Briefing Materials
One of the Education Policy Center’s primary goals is to educate local education leaders about important education policy issues, thereby equipping them to make smart, well-informed decisions in their school districts. As part of that effort, the Education Policy Center staff provide biennial education policy briefings to all interested school board candidates, regardless of political […]
Supreme Court to review common anti-school choice rule in state constitutions
Today the constitutions of 26 states contain bans that go well beyond what Blaine wanted. Unlike Blaine’s proposal, those constitutions mandate discrimination against “sectarian” religion.
How Federal Programs Support Private K-12 Students and Teachers
Despite the widely held misconception that private schools are barred from all forms of taxpayer-funded support, the federal government has long recognized the need to support nonpublic school students and staff nationwide. Federal law requires that these schools have access to a number of federally funded “equitable services” through their local school districts. There are […]
New Publication About a Rural Charter Public School
Colorado rural charter schools make up approximately 14% of all charter schools statewide. The challenges rural school districts face are frequent topics of discussion in education policy circles, such as: funding, facilities, and a shortage of teachers. Rural charter schools often face the same challenges as their authorizing public school district. These charter schools also […]
Paradox Valley Charter School: Twenty Years On, Choice Survives
Colorado rural charter schools make up approximately 14% of all charter schools statewide. The challenges rural school districts face are frequent topics of discussion in education policy circles, such as: funding, facilities, and a shortage of teachers. Rural charter schools often face the same challenges as their authorizing public school district. These charter schools also […]
Educational opportunity is a family-wide benefit
How does expanded educational opportunity impact families in terms of expectations, habits, and aspirations? This central question too often gets lost in purely data-driven debates about private school choice programs. Given the early evidence, perhaps it is time to change that. Longstanding public policy debates often begin to take on a strange feeling of deja […]
Jon Caldara Interviews Rob Natelson on Why Colorado’s “Anti-Sectarian” Rule Violates the U.S. Constitution
The Colorado Constitution’s ban on aid to “sectarian” institutions flatly violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
